A federal court panel immediately allowed a Georgia law that goes into effect Wednesday allowing abortions at about six weeks of pregnancy, ending a year-long battle over one of the country’s most restrictive laws.
The law, signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is usually when doctors can begin to detect a fetus’ heart activity. Exceptions to the law are permitted when a woman is subjected to serious harm or death in pregnancy, or in the case of rape or incest, as long as a police report has been filed. Georgia law has allowed abortions up to at least 20 weeks of pregnancy.
In the decision of a three-judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. wrote the constitution so Georgia could ban it. He also wrote that the expanded definition of a natural person of state that the law says is “a member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development that is born in the womb” was not vague, as plaintiffs had argued.
Georgia law had been tied up in court for several years. After a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional last summer, the appeals court granted an injunction and decided to delay its final decision until the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which took place on June 24.
On Wednesday, the appeals court vacated his injunction. It later said the law could go into effect immediately.
Read more about abortion issues in America
“Our family is committed to serving Georgia in a way that values and values every human being, and today’s 11th Circuit decision reaffirms our pledge to protect life at all stages” Posted on Twitter after the verdict.
Anthony Michael Kreis, an assistant law professor at Georgia State University, said that while the verdict was not surprising, its immediacy was “shocking” and its tone was “malicious.” He said it was unusual not to allow a few weeks before such a significant change went into effect.
He also noted that the statement referred to the healthcare providers who filed the lawsuit as “abortors” rather than in more passionate terms like “plaintiffs” or “complainants.”
All three judges on the panel were appointed by Republican presidents. Justice Pryor was nominated by President George W. Bush and Justice Barbara Lagoa by President Donald J. Trump; Justice Harvey Schlesinger, a District Court judge who was sitting before the Court of Appeals, was appointed by President George HW Bush.
The expanded personality definition of abortion legislation will have amazing implications for other state laws, said Dr. Circle. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday said fetuses with cardiac activity could now be considered members of state taxes, allowing women to file child support.
“It’s a dramatic and radical departure from the status quo of Georgia law,” said Dr. Circle.
As abortion restrictions spread to more states, Georgia residents seeking the procedure will face significant barriers to caregiving, said Alice Wang, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights.
“We have already seen much of the south in the dark,” Ms. Wang said.
In Alabama, abortion is outlawed with no exceptions for rape or incest. Tennessee is currently banning it after six weeks of pregnancy, and a law banning nearly all abortions, with no exceptions for rape or incest, is expected this summer. Abortion is illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Florida and after six weeks in South Carolina.
