‘DRACONIAN’

Appeals Court Allows Georgia’s Six-Week Abortion Ban to Go Into Effect Immediately

A federal appeals court stayed a lower court’s previous order to block the so-called “heartbeat” law.

Georgia’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—before many women even know they’re pregnant—took effect immediately on Wednesday after a federal appeals court’s ruling. A block imposed in 2020 on the so-called “heartbeat law” by a federal district court was vacated by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, citing the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision last month. The appeals court wrote that the Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, “makes clear that no right to abortion exists under the Constitution, so Georgia may prohibit them.” The five organizations that filed the lawsuit that resulted in Wednesday’s ruling issued a joint statement, calling the move “highly unorthodox” and “horrific.” Stacey Abrams, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, called the law “draconian” in a video posted to Twitter. “What has been done with this law is an assault on our liberties and we will fight back,” she said.