(Atlanta) A state judge on Monday refused to immediately suspend enforcement of Georgia’s restrictive abortion law, which went into effect last month and bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity is present.
Posted at 6:09 p.m
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that he had no authority to issue an injunction and block the law at this stage of the proceeding.
He stressed that his decision does not affect the substance of the case, which is still being tried.
Whether it is constitutional for the state to force a woman to carry a six-week-old embryo against her will, even in the face of serious medical risk, remains unanswered.
Judge Robert McBurney, in his decision
The law bans most abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is present. As early as the sixth week of pregnancy, cardiac activity can be detected by ultrasound in the cells of an embryo that will eventually become the heart. This means that most abortions are effectively banned in Georgia, at a time when many women are still unaware they are pregnant.
“We are deeply disappointed that the court will allow our state’s sweeping six-week abortion ban to remain in place, putting thousands of Georgian women at risk by denying them basic health care,” the statement read . Executive Director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. The group is the lead plaintiff in the case.
An email to a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, Kara Richardson, did not immediately receive a response. The state had argued that the judge could not stop enforcing the law while challenges to its constitutionality unfolded.
The lawsuit, presented to Judge McBurney on July 26, argues that the state’s abortion law violates “fundamental rights to liberty and privacy” under the Georgia Constitution.