Georgia Supreme Court reinstates 6-week abortion ban while appeal is underway

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday restored the state’s six-week abortion ban, halting a judge’s ruling a week ago that the six-week ban is unconstitutional and abortions could continue past six weeks. 

The six-week ban will remain in place while Georgia’s highest court considers the state’s appeal. 

That means that for now, abortions will not be allowed in Georgia beyond six weeks of pregnancy, often before many women are aware that they’re pregnant. 

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, a law went into effect in Georgia prohibiting most abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is typically around six weeks. The abortion debate has been working its way through Georgia courts ever since. 

Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, in striking down the six-week ban, wrote in his order that while “the State’s interest in protecting ‘unborn’ life is compelling, until that life can be sustained by the State … the balance of rights favors the woman.” 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the Republican who signed the six-week ban, issued a statement following McBurney’s ruling, saying, “Once again, the will of Georgians and their representatives has been overruled by the personal beliefs of one judge. Protecting the lives of the most vulnerable among us is one of our most sacred responsibilities, and Georgia will continue to be a place where we fight for the lives of the unborn.”

It’s not yet clear how long it will take the Georgia Supreme Court to consider the appeal. 

“We’re going to continue to call out these extreme agendas that we’re seeing from the other side, from Republicans,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday after the Georgia Supreme Court issued the stay. “It is important to say how dangerous this is. And how this is a freedom that has been taken away from women.”