The Georgia Supreme Court has reinstated a six-week abortion ban in the state. The decision, announced on Monday, went into effect at 5 p.m. local time, rendering most abortions illegal after six weeks of pregnancy—a timeframe during which many women may not yet be aware they are expecting.
The ruling comes amid an ongoing legal battle surrounding the LIFE Act, signed into law by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2019. The act prohibits abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, a point that can occur as early as six weeks. Although the law includes exceptions to protect the woman’s life and health, as well as in cases of fetal anomalies, it was previously halted by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney last week, allowing abortions to resume up to 22 weeks.
Judge McBurney’s earlier ruling emphasized that “liberty in Georgia includes…the power of a woman to control her own body.” However, he also noted that such autonomy is not without limits, stating that society may only intervene once a fetus reaches viability.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision is particularly significant in Georgia, a key battleground state where the abortion issue has become a central topic in political discourse. The lives of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, two Black women who died in 2022 due to complications related to abortion care, have been highlighted in discussions about the risks associated with restrictive laws. Vice President Kamala Harris has mentioned their cases in her campaign, drawing attention to the real-life consequences of such legislation.
Miller had avoided medical assistance due to fears surrounding the law, while Thurman was hospitalized for over 20 hours before doctors could legally perform an operation on her. ProPublica later reported that a state board determined both deaths were preventable, raising concerns about the implications of the reinstated ban.
Reproductive rights organizations swiftly condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling. Kwajelyn Jackson, Executive Director of the Feminist Women’s Health Center, criticized the decision. “It is cruel that our patients’ ability to access the reproductive health care they need has been taken away yet again,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood Southeast spokesperson Jaylen Black referred to the ruling as “an egregious example of how far anti-abortion lawmakers and judges will go to strip Georgians of their fundamental rights,” pointing out that it contributed to the preventable deaths of Thurman and Miller.
