Abortion rights defenders were dejected but determined on Wednesday after a federal appeals court overturned an injunction against Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, allowing the draconian law to go into effect immediately.
“Patients… awaiting abortion treatment that was legal when they arrived this morning have lost their right to that medical care and the control over their own bodies.”
Writing for a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge William Pryor said the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization nullified nearly 50 years of constitutional abortion rights “Makes it clear that the constitution does not give a right to abortion, so Georgia can ban it.”
Pryor—a man appointed by George W. Bush, the Roe v. Wade once called “the worst atrocity in the history of constitutional law,” he added “It’s hard to spot any ambiguity” in HB 481, Georgia’s 2019 anti-choice law, which “defines a natural person as including unborn human beings at any stage of development in the womb.”
While Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said he was “over the moon” with the verdict, State Senator Michelle Au (D-48), who is also a doctor, tweeted, “This means that in Georgia patients are in a waiting room, who just arrived this morning awaiting abortion treatment that was legal just this morning have now lost their right to that medical care and control over their own bodies.
“Just like that,” she added. “Path.”
The Constitution of the Atlanta Journal reports:
The new Georgian law differs from the “heartbeat” laws of other states as it includes so-called personality provisions, under which rights are extended to an embryo once the fetus’ heart activity can be proven. Parents could claim a fetus as a dependent on their state income taxes once a heartbeat is detected, and the measure would also require state officials to count an unborn child among the population of Georgia. Mothers can also apply for child support once heart activity is detected.
Experts have determined that the fetal “heartbeat” laws are inherently flawed, as what is detected in a six-week-old fetus is little more than cells and electrical activity.
Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked enforcement of Arizona’s so-called “personhood” law.
Georgia’s implementation of the six-week ban comes as an attempt to codify reproductive rights statewide through the House-approved Women’s Health Protection Act fell into the slate due to opposition from Senate Republicans and right-wing Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia got stuck.
Planned Parenthood Southeast vice president of foreign affairs Amy Kennedy said in a statement that Wednesday’s ruling “is an affront to our privacy rights and goes against the will of the vast majority of Georgians, who believe in the physical autonomy of everyone in our state.” believe”.
“People have just been robbed of their ability to make the decisions that are best for them, their lives and their future,” Kennedy continued. “Regardless of what the courts say, people deserve access to abortion — and Planned Parenthood is here to help you get the care you need, financial and logistical support.”
The ACLU called the appeals court’s move “unprecedented.”
“The court took this action without a request from the state and outside of normal legal process,” the group tweeted. “A lot of people don’t even know they’re pregnant at six weeks. People in Georgia — and people everywhere — deserve access to abortion care without delay or interference.”
“We will continue to use every tool we have to fight for abortion access in Georgia,” the ACLU pledged. “No one should be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will.”
Planned Parenthood Federation of America confirmed: “We’re here with you, Georgia. We will do everything in our power to ensure all patients… have access to the essential care they deserve. If you need an abortion, call or visit 1-800-230-PLAN AbortionFinder.org.“
