Georgia Supreme Court Revives State’s Six-Week Abortion Ban
- December 02, 2022
The Georgia Supreme Court granted November 23 an emergency petition to stay a trial court order that struck down the state’s “post-heartbeat” ban on abortion.
Georgia Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Robert C.I. McBurney ruled November 15 that the ban was void because it was unconstitutional when it was enacted in 2019. Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective v. Georgia, No. 2022CV367796 (Ga. Super. Ct. Nov. 15, 2022).
The court permanently enjoined the state from enforcing the provisions of the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act that criminalizes abortions after detectable fetal cardiac activity, which typically occurs around six weeks.
The provisions were enacted in 2019, “when the supreme law of this land unequivocally was . . . that laws unduly restricting abortion before viability were unconstitutional,” McBurney said. It was not necessary to reach the merits of plaintiff’s challenge, McBurney noted, because, under the Georgia Constitution, laws that violate the U.S. Constitution at the time of enactment are void.
Following the decision, the state petitioned the Georgia Supreme Court for a temporary stay of the order while its appeal is pending. In a one-page order, the high court granted the petition.
“It is outrageous that this extreme law is back in effect, just days after being rightfully blocked,” Alice Wang, staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights said in a statement. “This legal ping pong is causing chaos for medical providers trying to do their jobs and for patients who are now left frantically searching for the abortion services they need.”