Georgia Upholds Six-Week Abortion Law

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Facts

• The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the state's six-week abortion ban after voting 6-1 on Tuesday to send the case back to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who ruled the law “unequivocally unconstitutional” in November.¹
• The law, which remained in effect while the state Supreme Court considered the challenge to it, was signed in 2019 and took effect after SCOTUS overturned the national right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade in 2022.²
• McBurney then ruled that the law violates a provision in the Georgia state constitution because it was signed while Roe v. Wade was still in effect.³
• The Georgia law prohibits abortions once cardiac activity is detected in an embryo — approximately six weeks after conception — though it allows for exceptions in the cases of rape or incest if documented with authorities.¹
• SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Collective and other plaintiffs sued to void the law last spring.⁴
• The Fulton County Superior Court will now be tasked with determining if abortion is protected under the Georgia state constitution and will consider other challenges in the suit, including claims that it violates Georgia citizens' privacy rights.¹

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²11Alive, ³Forbes and ⁴Axios.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The Guardian. This ruling isn’t surprising because so many Republican-led states have been removing women's autonomy over their own bodies since the reversal of Roe. Abortion access is withering away in Georgia, and similar bans in neighboring states are making it impossible to travel for crucial health care. Advocates have to keep faith, though, that the courts will eventually do the right thing to end these harmful bans.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. This pro-life law aligns with the pro-life protections most states have in their constitutions for unborn children after their heartbeats can be detected. Roe never should’ve been interpreted as a national right to abortion, and the will of Georgia’s voters is finally being exercised to protect the unborn and their mothers, despite Democrats' challenges to these types of laws.

Predictions