The Georgia Supreme Court has allowed the state’s six-week abortion ban to remain in effect, issuing a Wednesday order staying a lower court order blocking the ban while the state appeals the injunction against the ban.
The law was originally passed in 2019, effective beginning January 2020. But pro-choice organizations sued, and courts blocked the law from taking effect pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
After the decision cleared the way for the abortion ban to take effect, plaintiffs from the first lawsuit launched another lawsuit, Sistersong v. Georgia, arguing that the Georgia Life Act violates equal protection and due process clauses of the state’s constitution.
In a November 15 order, the Fulton County Superior Court agreed with an ab initio argument that when the state law was passed, it was unconstitutional, making the law void.
Attorney General Christopher Carr indicated that his office would appeal the decision, leading to the Wednesday Supreme Court order staying the Fulton court’s order while the appeal goes forward.
Congressman-elect Rich McCormick (R-GA-06) tweeted, “In U.S. law, our obligation is to protect life, liberty and property. We are pleased that the Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld the law as we continue to protect innocent life. Going forward, we hope to continue this loving conversation with compassion and respect.”
In U.S. law, our obligation is to protect life, liberty and property. We are pleased that the Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld the law as we continue to protect innocent life. Going forward, we hope to continue this loving conversation with compassion and respect. https://t.co/6Zpz2eCQHx
— Dr. Rich McCormick for Congress (@RichforGA) November 23, 2022
“While disappointing and deeply frustrating, we were not surprised when the Kemp administration filed a petition for an emergency stay following last week’s ruling,” SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Executive Director Monica Simpson said in a press release.
She said, “The governor and attorney general of Georgia are doubling down to control access to reproductive health care, and while the stay was granted, we will not stop fighting until this ban that is steeped in white supremacy is gone. All Georgians—including Black women and Queer, trans, low-income, and rural people—should have the freedom to decide to have children, to not have children, and to raise the families they have in thriving communities.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Pregnant Woman” by 2147792.
