Georgia Supreme Court reverses decision to block 6-week abortion ban

(Image credit: Elijah Nouvelage / Stringer/Getty Images)

The Georgia Supreme Court has reinstated the state's strict six-week ban on abortion, just one week after a lower court overturned the law, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The one-page ruling approves an emergency petition filed by the state after the ban was lifted on Nov. 15. The high court will put the previous order on pause while it considers an appeal, per the Post.

Last week Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney blocked Georgia's LIFE Act, also known as the "heartbeat law." In his ruling, he found "the supreme law of this land unequivocally was — and had been for nearly half a century — that laws unduly restricting abortion before viability were unconstitutional," per CNN. When the law was initially signed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court had not yet overturned Roe v. Wade. Georgia's state attorney general had appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, initiating the latest reversal.

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The latest ruling from the state Supreme Court means abortion access is again restricted after six weeks, effective immediately. According to the brief ruling, seven of the justices agreed on the decision, while one was disqualified and another did not participate.

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Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.