A federal judge temporarily blocked a law in Georgia on Tuesday that would ban abortions after six weeks, once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which was supposed to take effect Jan. 1.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, an Obama appointee, sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Reproductive Rights, who filed a complaint on behalf of abortion providers in June.
“In a state with a critical shortage of medical providers and some of the highest rates of maternal and infant deaths, especially among black Georgians, politicians should focus on expanding access to reproductive care, not banning abortion before someone even knows they’re pregnant,” said Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.
The law, signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in May, would make exceptions in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life was at risk. Federal judges have issued injunctions against similar six-week bans in several states, including Kentucky and Ohio.
