Judge Overturns Georgia’s 6-Week Abortion Ban, Calling it Plainly Unconstitutional – Judge Robert McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court stated that the law violated a pregnant woman’s rights under the state constitution. Judge Robert McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court concluded on Tuesday that two provisions of the abortion ban were “plainly unconstitutional when drafted, voted upon, and enacted.” Governor Brian Kemp signed the “heartbeat bill” into law in Georgia in 2019, and it entered into force this summer following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The law prohibits abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is present, at about six weeks — before many women even know they are pregnant.
McBurney asserted that the law violated the state constitution’s rights for pregnant women. “Everywhere in America, including Georgia, it was unequivocally unconstitutional for governments — federal, state, or local — to ban abortions before viability,” he wrote. Tuesday’s ruling, however, leaves the door open for the state to revisit the abortion ban. Kara Richardson, a spokeswoman for Georgia’s attorney general, told Axios that the state will “pursue an immediate appeal and will continue to fulfill our duty to defend the laws of our state in court.”
Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, applauded the verdict for the time being and promised that more work will be done in the future. “After a long road, we are finally able to celebrate the end of an extreme abortion ban in our state,” said Simpson, per Axios. “While we applaud the end of a ban steeped in white supremacy, it should not have existed in the first place. Now, it’s time to move forward with a vision for Georgia that establishes full bodily autonomy and liberation for our communities.”
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