North Fulton Today

The Georgia Supreme Court has reinstated the state's abortion ban after Georgia state officials asked the higher court to block a judge’s ruling that overturned the ban earlier this month.

The state's ban prevents abortions from taking place after approximately six weeks into a pregnancy, once a detectable heartbeat was present; a recent report by FOX 5 Atlanta said. The decision effectively removes the option to abort because six weeks is before many women even realize they are pregnant.   

"This Court should stay the lower court’s decision now, without waiting to overrule it months down the line, while untold numbers of unborn children suffer the permanent consequences," Georgia Solicitor General Stephen Petrany wrote.

The order places the lower court's ruling on hold while the justices take more time to consider an appeal, during which time the state’s ban on abortion procedures is restored.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia has voiced its support for the lower court's ruling, adding that the judge's ruling was correct and should stand as it was rendered as abortion providers have already resumed performing the procedure past six weeks.

In his ruling, the judge stressed that the state’s abortion ban was invalid because when it was signed into law in 2019, U.S. Supreme Court precedent under Roe v. Wade and another ruling allowed abortions to be performed well past six weeks.