ATLANTA — A judge ruled Monday that Georgia can no longer enforce its six-week abortion ban, marking a significant development in the state’s abortion laws.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued an order stating, “A review of our higher courts’ interpretation of ‘liberty’ includes the power of a woman to control her own body and to decide what happens to it and in it.”
McBurney’s order struck down the state’s abortion law, which took effect in 2022 and made it illegal for doctors to perform abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy.
The new ruling now allows the procedure up until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
This ruling follows the state Supreme Court’s reversal of a 2022 ruling from McBurney, where he said the 2019 law had been passed illegally since Roe v. Wade was the law of the land at the time.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
McBurney handed down his ruling Monday afternoon after the Georgia Supreme Court sent the case back to Fulton County nearly a year ago to address each part of the law and determine its constitutionality.
In his order, McBurney said, “The law of Georgia reverts to what was (and remains) constitutional in this State at the time of the LIFE Act’s passage.”
Anthony Michael Kreis, a well-respected Georgia State University professor, an expert in constitutional law, said the abortion issue in Georgia is far from being settled.
“This will certainly be appealed by the state to the Supreme Court of Georgia, and that’s really where the final decision will be rendered about whether or not the six-week ban is constitutional under the state constitution. I certainly anticipate an appeal, and we’ll have to wait and see how all that shakes out,” Kreis said.
“This decision means that effective immediately patients can once again get essential abortion care in Georgia beyond the earliest weeks of pregnancy,” said Julia Kaye of the ACLU.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office released a statement Tuesday, saying: “Once again, the will of Georgians and their representatives have 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.”
Supporters of the ruling say that if it stands, it could also give people in nearby states access to abortions.