Georgia Heartbeat Law Blocked By Federal Judge

On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the infamous state law banning abortions six weeks into pregnancy. The law, signed by Governor Brian Kemp last May, was scheduled to go into effect in January 2020, had interest groups like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU not intervened.

Although this block is certainly something pro-choice Georgians are celebrating, it’s pretty certain that the state will appeal. If appealed, the case would go to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a ruling in favor of Georgia would do much more damage, which encompasses Alabama and Florida as well. At this time, Brian Kemp’s spokesman has not said if the state plans to appeal.

The block comes after a large wave of so-called “Heartbeat Bills” made their way through the legislature in several states, all being signed by respective governors. Arkansas and Mississippi, two states with almost identical laws to Georgia, have been struck down by federal judges within recent months. The other states, like Alabama and Ohio, have been sued by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood and and are also awaiting hearings.

It’s no secret that the underlying reason for the mass amount of restrictive abortion bans is to get one of the cases all the way to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. After Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment, pro-life interest groups celebrated and worked tirelessly behind closed doors to lobby for pro-life legislation, eventually getting to the heartbeat bills we see today. With four fairly conservative judges and four reasonably liberal justices, the power will lay in moderate Chief Justice Roberts’ hands in the event a case gets to the Supreme Court.

At this point, it’s uncertain which direction the Georgia law will swing. Time will tell where the legislation ends up going, and in the meantime, abortion access for millions of Americans is on the line.

By Annie Levy