On Monday, the Supreme Court of Georgia reinstated the “LIFE Act,” which safeguards unborn babies once a heartbeat is detected around six weeks into pregnancy.
The court approved the state’s request to maintain these pro-life protections while an appeal is ongoing regarding a Fulton County judge’s ruling that deemed the law “arbitrary.” Six judges supported the state’s position, one provided a partial concurrence, and two abstained from participating.
Pro-life advocates celebrated the ruling, while pro-abortion groups condemned it. The law is set to be reinstated at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
“Thank you [Governor Brian Kemp] and [Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr] for your continued and unwavering dedication to protecting the youngest Georgians under the LIFE Act,” pro-life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America posted on X.
Planned Parenthood called the Supreme Court’s decision “devastating.”
“Georgia’s Supreme Court reinstated a six-week abortion ban — putting the ban into effect just one week after a lower court found it unconstitutional,” the abortion giant posted. “Georgians deserve better. Every person should be able to get the care they need.”
The reinstated law protects unborn babies at six weeks of development, when significant growth occurs in their heart, brain, spinal cord, and arms.
Last week, Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney overturned the LIFE Act, which was signed into law by Governor Kemp in 2018.
“When a fetus growing inside a woman reaches viability, when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then — and only then — may society intervene,” McBurney wrote in his decision.
He claimed that “liberty” in Georgia encompassed a woman’s right to control her own body, make decisions about it, and resist state interference in her healthcare choices.
McBurney annulled the protections following the widespread circulation of misleading reports that attributed the deaths of two women to Georgia’s LIFE Act.
In one instance, a woman died in 2022 due to complications from the abortion pill; she developed an infection after taking medication to terminate her pregnancy with twins, and the remains remained in her uterus. Contrary to popular belief, the LIFE Act would not have prevented doctors from removing the deceased babies’ remains.
Georgia is poised to be a key battleground state that could influence the outcome of the 2024 election, with Democrats concentrating their campaign efforts on advocating for a national abortion guarantee.
