On Monday, a Georgia judge ruled that the state’s heartbeat law violates a woman’s right to “liberty” in the state constitution. This is the second time the same judge has reviewed the law and found it to be unconstitutional.
The heartbeat law, titled the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act (LIFE Act), was passed in 2019, but it was unenforceable until Roe v. Wade was reversed. In 2022, the LIFE Act became law in Georgia.
When Judge McBurney first considered the law in 2022, he ruled that it was unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed his decision when Roe was overruled and sent it back to the lower court.
Upon second review, the same judge now claims the law is unconstitutional under the state constitutional right to “liberty.”
His opinion, which reads more like a policy position, claims “liberty” includes “the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices.” But the judge also reasons that once a preborn baby becomes viable the state is justified in limiting abortion.
Pro-life advocates have condemned the decision, calling it “absurd” and an act of judicial activism.
Georgia’s attorney general responded to the ruling with a promise to appeal the decision, “We believe Georgia’s LIFE Act is fully constitutional, and we will immediately appeal the lower court’s decision.”
Interestingly, Georgia doesn’t have a mechanism for citizens to place ballot measures on the ballot. In the absence of that tool, the abortion industry is relentlessly attempting to use the state judicial system to read a so-called right to abortion into the state constitution.
The lower court’s ruling permanently blocks enforcement of the heartbeat law until further review or additional court orders are issued. For now, abortion law in Georgia will revert back to what it was prior to the heartbeat law, meaning abortion is now only prohibited at the point of viability which is about 22 weeks gestation.
The Daily Citizen will continue to provide updates to this developing story.
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