North Fulton Today

Proceedings began Oct. 24 in an Atlanta courtroom in a case set to determine if Georgia will continue to ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, according to a Fox 5 Atlanta report.

With the suit being filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Fulton County Superior Court Judge, Robert McBurney, has scheduled two days of testimony as the plaintiffs seek to strike down the law on the grounds it violates the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy and liberty.

The ACLU said the current ban forces “pregnancy and childbirth upon countless Georgians,” according to Fox 5.

"It means they either have to forcibly remain pregnant or find a way to get out of state to go to a state that provides more access," Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, Susan Lambiase, told Fox 5.

The state attorney general’s office argued in a court filing that Georgia’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion because it affects another "human life.”

Currently, the law bans most abortions once a "detectable human heartbeat" is present, Fox 5 reported. Cardiac activity can be detected by ultrasound in cells within an embryo that will eventually become the heart as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, essentially meaning most abortions in Georgia are effectively outlawed before many women know they are pregnant.