Restrictions

Georgia is enforcing a 6-week abortion ban.^[1]Ga. Code Ann. § 16-12-141. On September 30, 2024, a state district court found that the Georgia Constitution prohibits political interference with an individual’s abortion decision before viability and issued a permanent injunction,^[2]SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective v. State of Georgia, No. 2022-CV-367796 (Sup. Ct. Fulton Cnty. Sept. 30, 2024) (declaring sections 4 and 11 of the LIFE Act unconstitutional and … Continue reading which the Georgia Supreme Court stayed pending the state’s appeal. ^[3]SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective v. State of Georgia, No. 2022-CV-367796 (Ga. Oct. 7, 2024). Previously, the state supreme court permitted the ban to remain in effect.^[4]State of Georgia v. SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective, 894 S.E.2d 1 (Ga. 2023).

Previously, Georgia law generally prohibited abortion at twenty weeks post-fertilization; however, abortion care is allowed between 6 and 20 weeks post-fertilization if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.^[5]GA. CODE ANN. § 16-12-141(b)(2). State law asserts that “natural person” includes an “unborn child”. ^[6]GA. CODE ANN. § 1-2-1, permanently enjoined by SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective v. Kemp, 472 F. Supp. 3d 1297 (N.D. Ga. 2020); rev’d and vacated, SisterSong Women of Color … Continue reading It also prohibits D&X abortion procedures.^[7]GA. CODE ANN. § 16-12-144(b). Pregnant people who seek abortion care must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period and biased counseling.^[8]Id. § 31-9A-3. Georgia also limits public funding for,^[9]Ga. Dep’t of Cmty. Health, Div. of Medicaid, Policies and Procedures for Hospital Services, § 911 (2016), available at https://gshp.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/procedures_hospital.pdf; Ga. … Continue reading and private insurance coverage of, abortion.^[10]GA. CODE ANN. § 33-24-59.17(a). Georgia law generally requires that a parent or legal guardian be notified about a minor’s abortion;^[11]Id. § 15-11-682. alternatively a judge can approve a minor’s petition without parental notification.^[12]Id. § 15-11-684(c).

Georgia requires abortion providers to submit reports to the state.^[13]Id. §§ 16-12-141.1, 31-10-19. State law restricts the provision of abortion care to licensed physicians.^[14]Id. § 16-12-141(e)(2). Providers who violate Georgia’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[15]See, e.g., id. §§ 16-12-141.1(f), 16-12-143.

State Protections

A Georgia court has held that a ban on abortion at approximately 6-weeks violates the right to liberty and privacy under the Georgia constitution.^[16]See supra note 2. In 2022, the city of Atlanta passed a resolution to provide $300,000 to the National Network of Abortion Funds to provide reproductive health care services.^[17]22-R-3981, 2022 Council, Reg. Sess. (Atlanta 2022).

Post-Roe Prohibitions

The Supreme Court invalidated certain provisions of the state’s pre-Roe ban.^[18]Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 199-200, 93 S. Ct. 739, 751-2 (1973). But see 1973 Ga. Laws 635-38 and Ga. Code Ann. § 16-12-140, formerly Ga. Code Ann. § 26-1201.

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, Georgia is enforcing a 6-week abortion ban, which the Georgia Supreme Court has allowed to remain in effect although the Superior Court of Fulton County permanently enjoined the ban as unconstitutional.