Judge permanently blocks Georgia's 'heartbeat' abortion law

A federal judge on Monday permanently blocked Georgia’s 2019 “heartbeat” abortion law, finding that it violates the U. S. Constitution.

U. S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled against the state in a lawsuit filed by abortion providers and an advocacy group. Jones had temporarily blocked the law in October, and it never went into effect. The new ruling permanently enjoins the state from ever enforcing House Bill 481.

In his ruling, Jones said that part of the law "violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution."

In response to the ruling, Gov. Brian Kemp said that his administration would appeal the decision.

"Georgia values life, and we will keep fighting for the rights of the unborn,” Kemp said.

The law, which was signed by Kemp in May of 2019, was set to become enforceable at the beginning of 2020, but a lawsuit challenging it was filed in June on behalf of Georgia abortion providers and an advocacy group.

The law defined a “detectable human heartbeat” as “embryonic or fetal cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the heart within the gestational sac.” Referring to a document from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynec... (Read more)

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