Georgia Supreme Court rules abortion law can continue, returns other issues to lower court
The Georgia Supreme Court has rejected one argument against the state's current abortion law, which bans most abortions after six weeks. The decision returns the case to the Superior Court of Fulton County to consider other arguments.
"Today's ruling, essentially, wasn't surprising. It's actually the ruling I would have expected," said John Acevedo, visiting associate professor of practice at Emory University School of Law.
The decision in the Superior Court of Fulton County ruled that because the law, H.B. 481, was passed in 2019 when Roe v. Wade was the law, H.B. 481 was unconstitutional because it violated the interpretation of the constitution when it was passed and was void at that point. The Supreme Court, however, wrote that the constitutional interpretation should be based on the more recent Dobbs decision, which ruled there is no constitutional right to an abortion.
The real question now is whether the law violates privacy protections of the Georgia State constitution.
"I kind of anticipate that the opponents of the ban will argue that Georgia has a greater right to privacy than is granted by the United States Supreme Court, and I suspect the supporters of the ban will point out that, by and large, Georgia has followed the United State Supreme Court's thinking on the issue of privacy," Acevedo said.
The law was allowed to go in to effect while the court considered it, so Tuesday's ruling did not change what kind of access to abortion Georgian's have. Supporters of the law, however, celebrated the decision.
"It is the latest vindication of the will of Georgians, who have compassion for both babies and mothers, along with lawmakers like Governor (Brian) Kemp and many others who heard them and acted,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was quoted as saying in a statement.
Opponents of the law condemned the decision, including the Joe Biden reelection campaign.
“The State of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban — one of the most extreme in the nation — strips women of autonomy in the most personal health decisions," Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff wrote in a statement on the ruling. "... I again call on Georgia’s state legislature and the governor to repeal this extreme abortion ban.”
A poll released prior to last year's midterm and state elections showed more than 60% of respondents in Georgia strongly or somewhat opposed H.B. 481, about 32% strongly or somewhat supported it.
More: Hundreds rally in Athens to protest Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade
Georgia's law puts it around the middle of the road for abortion access compared to surrounding states, Acevedo said.
"I would say it's more stringent than Florida and North Carolina and Virginia ... but definitely more permissive than Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, which have full bans," he said.
The case will continue with more litigation. Because the question is now one of state law, whenever the case resolves it will likely to be definitive, unless the legislature revisits the law.
"If the Georgia Supreme Court were to uphold the ban on Georgia law, it wouldn't be appealable to the United States Supreme Court because it would be on an independent state round," Acevedo said. "So in many ways, what comes next is kind of the final word."
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Georgia abortion law can stay, State Supreme Court rules
