Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates State’s Abortion Law

The Nathan Deal Judicial Center, home of Georgia's Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in Atlanta on May, 1, 2024. Kate Brumback/AP Photo

A judge’s ruling striking down Georgia’s abortion ban was stayed on Oct. 7 by the Georgia Supreme Court.

The stay means the ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected will go back into effect as the case proceeds.

Six justices granted a request by Georgia officials to reinstate the law after a county judge on Sept. 30 concluded that the law violates the right of women in the state to have an abortion.

Georgia’s Constitution gives residents liberty, and that liberty includes the right of a woman to “control what happens to and within her body,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in his ruling.

In a one-page order from the Georgia Supreme Court, a majority of justices said they were staying McBurney’s ruling as of 5 p.m. on Oct. 7. The majority did not explain their reasoning.

The law states that abortion is not authorized if the heartbeat of an unborn child has been detected. Exceptions include cases in which doctors determine a medical emergency exists and, in some instances, incest or rape.

The Georgia Supreme Court order does not impact the block of a provision that would provide abortion-related health records to district attorneys.

According to the high court, Justice Nels S.D. Peterson was disqualified from considering the state’s emergency request to intervene, and Justice Andrew A. Pinson did not participate.

In an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, Justice John J. Ellington said the state had not provided sufficient arguments to prompt a stay, particularly in light of how groups suing over the law met the burden of establishing that the law violates Georgia’s Constitution.

“Fundamentally, the state should not be in the business of enforcing laws that have been determined to violate fundamental rights guaranteed to millions of individuals under the Georgia Constitution,” he wrote. “The ’status quo' that should be maintained is the state of the law before the challenged laws took effect. Accordingly, I dissent.”

Ellington concurred only with the choice not to reinstate the provision concerning health records.

Justices Michael P. Boggs, Sarah Hawkins Warren, Charles J. Bethel, Carla Wong McMillian, Shawn LaGrua, and Verda M. Colvin formed the majority.

The stay is in place as the state lodges an appeal, which will be heard in due course. The stay could become permanent or ultimately be withdrawn.

The abortion bill was approved by the Georgia Legislature in 2019 and the law took effect in 2020.