Restrictions

On November 23, 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court allowed the state’s six week ban to take effect.^[1]State of Georgia v. SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective, Case No. S23M0358 (Ga. Nov. 23, 2022). The ban was previously enjoined following a November 15, 2022 ruling by the Superior Court of Fulton County that enjoined enforcement of sections 4 and 11 of the state’s six-week ban as void ab initio (having no legal effect from inception) under Georgia law.^[2]SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective v. Kemp, 2022-CV-367796 (Sup. Ct. Fulton Cnty. Nov. 15, 2022). This ruling stems from the state enacting a six-week ban in 2019,^[3]H.B. 481, 2019 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2019).  when laws restricting abortion before viability were unconstitutional.^[4]See Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 153 (1973) (the constitutional right of privacy, “founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action [is] broad … Continue reading The existing federal injunction was lifted upon request by the Georgia Solicitor General,^[5]Notice requesting reversal, SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective v. Kemp, No. 20-13024 (11th Cir. Jun. 24, 2022). following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.^[6]Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 597 U.S (June 24, 2022), rev’d Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., 945 F.3d 265, 274 (5th Cir. 2019).; SisterSong Women of Color Reprod. Just. Collective … Continue reading

Georgia law generally prohibits abortion at twenty weeks post-fertilization.^[7]GA. CODE ANN. § 16-12-141. State law asserts that “natural person” includes “unborn children,” but the statute is permanently enjoined.^[8]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). It also prohibits D&X abortion procedures.^[9]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.^[10]Id. § 31-9A-3. Georgia also limits public funding for,^[11]Georgia Department of Community Health, Division of Medicaid, Policies and Procedures for Hospital Services, § 911 (2016), available at … Continue reading and private insurance coverage of, abortion.^[12]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;^[13]Id. § 15-11-682. alternatively a judge can approve a minor’s petition without parental notification.^[14]Id. § 15-11-684(c).

Georgia requires abortion providers to submit reports to the state.^[15]Id. § 16-12-141.1; id. § 31-10-19. State law restricts the provision of abortion care to licensed physicians.^[16]Id. § 16-12-141(e)(2). Providers who violate Georgia’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.^[17]See, e.g., GA. CODE ANN. § 16-12-141.1(f); id. § 16-12-143.

State Protections

Georgia law does not include express constitutional or statutory protections for abortion. 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.^[18]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.^[19]Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 199, 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 argues that it can enforce its six-week abortion ban, which the Georgia Supreme Court allowed to take effect after a Fulton County court blocked the law. Numerous medically unnecessary restrictions already make it difficult to access abortion care in Georgia.