The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Abortion law

- Staff writer Greg Bluestein contribute­d to this article.

was unconstitu­tional.

Jones agreed, writing that “the constituti­onal liberty of the woman to have some freedom to terminate her pregnancy” is inhibited by the law.

As a result of his ruling, Jones wrote, “the state of Georgia’s abortion laws that were in effect prior to the passage of H.B. 481 remain in effect.”

Under current Georgia law, passed by the Legislatur­e in 2012, abortions are allowed through 20 weeks of gestation, or about 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Monica Simpson, the executive director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproducti­ve Justice Collective — the lead plaintiff in the case — lauded Jones’ decision.

“This win is tremendous, and it is also makes a very bold statement,” Simpson said. “No one should have to live in a world where their bodies and reproducti­ve decision making is controlled by the state. And we will continue to work to make sure that is never a reality in Georgia or anywhere else.”

A spokeswoma­n for the Georgia Attorney General’s Office said the state would appeal the ruling.

Kemp said on Twitter, “Georgia is a state that values life and our fight to protect the innocent unborn is far from over.”

Joshua Edmonds, the executive director of the anti-abortion Georgia Life Alliance, invoked the national discussion on racial justice that has occurred since the deaths of Ahmaud

Arbery in Glynn County and George Floyd in Minnesota.

“In a time where our state is grappling with important conversati­ons about innocent life unjustly taken, today’s ruling is a tragic and tone-deaf symbol that our culture still has much work to do to establish liberty and justice for all,” Edmonds said. “We will appeal this attempt to turn back the clock on human rights and continue to fight for a culture that protects life regardless of age, race, gender, or ability.”

But Sean J. Young, the legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, said the group brought the lawsuit because women should be able to make decisions about their own body.

“The district court blocked Georgia’s abortion ban because it violates over 50 years of Supreme Court precedent and fails to trust women to make their own personal decisions,” Young said.

Jones in October had temporaril­y blocked the law from going into effect while the case played out in court. It was set to take effect the first day of this year.

Jones also considered various so-called “personhood” provisions in the legislatio­n, which extend legal rights to fertilized eggs.

The ACLU argued that the “personhood” components of the law were vague and made it difficult for its clients — abortion providers — to know when they are in violation.

The “personhood” language in the law would have allowed parents, once a fetal heartbeat is detected, to claim an embryo on their taxes as a dependent, and the embryo would be counted toward the state’s population. Under the law, a court could also have ordered a father to pay child support after a heartbeat is detected.

The Georgia ruling comes two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, struck down a Louisiana law that required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

Anti-abortion activists had seized upon the opportunit­y created by last year’s appointmen­t of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, tilting the bench in the favor of conservati­ves.

Last month’s decision in the Louisiana case was a blow to anti-abortion activists, but supporters of Georgia’s law have said they believe it is the one that will overturn Roe v. Wade.

Virginia Galloway, a lobbyist with the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition, said she believes an appeal will favor the measure passed last year.

“If they consider the Supreme Court’s comments, that if personhood were ever establishe­d, then that would invalidate the Roe vs. Wade decision,” Galloway said.

In Georgia, later abortions would still have been allowed in cases of rape, incest, if the life of the woman is in danger or in instances of “medical futility,” when a fetus would not be able to survive after birth. To obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy because of rape or incest, a woman would have had to first file a police report.

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