Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates Heartbeat Abortion Ban

As previously reported, last week a Georgia state trial court held Georgia's heartbeat abortion ban unconstitutional and enjoined enforcement of two key provisions of the law.  In reaching its conclusion, the trial court invoked Georgia's "void ab initio" doctrine. Today in State of Georgia v. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, (GA Sup. Ct., Nove 23, 2022), the Georgia Supreme Court in a brief order granted a stay of the trial court's order. This allows the ban to go back into effect. Seven of the nine justices concurred in the Order. One Justice was disqualified and one did not participate. ACLU issued a press release announcing the decision.