ACLU files motion to block Georgia's six-week abortion ban from taking effect

ATLANTA – A team of abortion rights advocacy groups filed a court motion to stop Georgia's six-week abortion ban from taking effect in January.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood requested an injunction as a lawsuit challenging Georgia's "fetal heartbeat" bill proceeds in court.

The groups maintain that the law, which was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May, is unconstitutional and violates the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal nationwide. At six weeks, they argue, many women don't even know they are pregnant.

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The organizations filed a lawsuit in June challenging the six-week ban on behalf of several plaintiffs, including health care providers, doctors and their patients.

“This legislation is blatantly unconstitutional under nearly 50 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Politicians should never second-guess women’s health care decisions,” Sean Young, legal director of the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement. “Politicians have no business telling women or a couple when to start or expand a family."

Other states, including Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio and Missouri, passed abortion bans this year, imposing various restrictions.

WHERE DID THE BANS COME FROM? Copycat legislation

Abortion rights groups challenged many of those bans in court.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ACLU files motion to block Georgia's abortion ban from taking effect