By leah jones
Georgia’s Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney struck down the state's 6-week abortion ban on Sept. 20.
McBurney ruled the LIFE Act unconstitutional in Georgia. The act banned abortions after a “human heartbeat is detected” or after 6-weeks into pregnancy.
McBurney wrote in his order, “A review of our higher courts’ interpretations of ‘liberty’ demonstrates that liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, (cont.)
and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices.”
This ruling reverts Georgia’s abortion laws back to its previous ruling which allows them to be performed until 22-weeks into a pregnancy.
Georgia is the only southern state that has not completely banned abortions. Now the state is accessible for people in neighboring American states to get abortions within closer proximity.
However, it is likely this ruling on the ban will be appealed by Georgia's Supreme Court. Reinstating the ban previously took place in 2022 when McBurney tried to have it thrown out.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court in June of 2022, Georgia enacted its LIFE Act ban. McBurney overturned it in Oct. 2022 ruling it unconstitutional.
ProPublica cited experts saying Amber Thurman’s death in 2022 was preventable with a routine procedure but doctors would not perform it for 20 hours out of legal uncertainty.