SisterSong v. Kemp

(Revised July 20, 2022) This lawsuit challenges Georgia’s 2019 effort to ban abortion, which was set to take effect on January 1, 2020. House Bill 481 would ban abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant. 

Plaintiffs: SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Feminist Women’s Health Center, Planned Parenthood Southeast, Inc., Atlanta Comprehensive Wellness Clinic, Atlanta Women’s Medical Center, FemHealth USA d/b/a carafem, Columbus Women’s Health Organization, P.C., Summit Medical Associates, P.C., Carrie Cwiak, M.D., M.P.H., Lisa Haddad, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., and Eva Lathrop, M.D., M.P.H.

Center Attorneys: Julie Rikelman, Kirby Tyrrell

Co-Counsel/Cooperating Attorneys: Susan Lambiase and Carrie Y. Flaxman at Planned Parenthood Federation Of America, Susan Talcott Camp, Rebecca Chan, and Elizabeth Watson at American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Inc., Sean J. Young at American Civil Liberties Union Federation of Georgia, Inc.

Summary:

We filed our complaint in federal district court on June 28, 2019 and, on October 1, the district court granted our request for a preliminary injunction, blocking the law before it could take effect while the litigation proceeds.  Following discovery and oral argument, on July 13, 2020, the district court granted a permanent injunction and struck down the law.  The State filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and oral argument took place September 24, 2021. On September 27, the appellate court stayed the case pending a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Center’s challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.

On July 20, the 11th Circuit issued a ruling allowing the law to take immediate effect.

Read More:

• Press release: Georgia Six-Week Abortion Ban to Take Effect, 07.20.22
• Feature Story: Center Lawsuits Block Abortion Bans in Georgia and Tennessee, 7.16.20
• Feature Story: Georgia’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Declared Unconstitutional, 7.15.20
• Center in the Spotlight: Georgia’s 6-week abortion ban officially struck down, 7.13.20
• Center in the Spotlight: Judges block six-week abortion bans in Georgia and Tennessee, 7.13.20
• Center in the Spotlight: Georgia’s Controversial Abortion Law Gets Court Hearing, 6.15.20

Legal Documents – Filings:

• Motion for Summary Judgment and Permanent Injunction, 2.20.20
• Response to Defendants’ Opposition to Preliminary Injunction, 9.9.19
• Memorandum in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction, 7.23.19
• Complaint, 6.28.19

Legal Documents – Court Decisions:

• Permanent Injunction, 7.13.20
• Preliminary Injunction, 10.1.19

Press Releases:

• Federal Court Strikes Down Georgia’s 2019 Abortion Ban, 7.13.20
• ACLU, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood File Motion for Summary Judgment in Georgia Abortion Ban Lawsuit, 2.20.20
• Federal Court Blocks Georgia’s Abortion Ban From Taking Effect, 10.1.19
• ACLU, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood File Lawsuit Challenging Georgia Abortion Ban, 6.28.19
• Georgia Governor Signs Almost Total Ban on Abortion, 5.7.19