Reproductive Justice Advocates Win Another Battle
The right of women in Georgia to choose their own path whether it be to give birth to a child or to terminate a pregnancy was upheld on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, when Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney overturned Georgia’s six-week ban on abortion in the trial of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective et al., vs. the State of Georgia (SisterSong trial).
In accordance with his order, women have an immediate right to an abortion within 22 weeks of pregnancy in Georgia, a law enacted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of Roe vs. Wade in 1973.
In 2019, Governor Brian Kemp signed into law Georgia’s Heartbeat Bill, a law that prohibits a woman from obtaining an abortion and prohibits a doctor from performing an abortion after six weeks of gestation.
While the law did not immediately take effect in 2019, Georgia lawmakers acted in hopes that the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court would eventually overturn Roe vs. Wade. In June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in the matter of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the right to an abortion lies within the power of the state. As such, Georgia began to enforce its six-week abortion ban in July of 2022.
Judge McBurney, who presided over the SisterSong trial, held on Tuesday that it was improper for the Georgia legislature to enact the six-week ban on abortion given that it was contrary to the law of the land, Roe v. Wade, when the ban was enacted. In other words, the Georgia legislature exceeded its authority when it tried to enact a law that was inconsistent with federal law.
Judge McBurney’s decision is so important to the reproductive justice movement because it gives women the right to an abortion and the right to make important decisions about their body.
SisterLove, which wrote a friend of the court brief in support of SisterSong’s lawsuit, applauds the decision to overturn Georgia’s abortion ban.
We are aware of the climate we are in and understand that while this decision is the current law in Georgia, the Georgia General Assembly will likely introduce a bill to ban abortion this winter.
To challenge the potential bill, it is extremely important for citizens to contact state legislators by telephone, email, or in person and voice the importance of a woman’s right to choose.
It's also important that you appear at town halls, rallies at the state capitol, county commission meetings, and city council meetings and discourage the enforcement of any abortion ban.
To find out the names of your elected officials, go to www.openstates.org. Stay connected with SisterLove by following us on social media to find out more ways to combat attacks on reproductive justice.