Federal court permanently blocks Georgia ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) –
A federal court has permanently barred the state of Georgia from implementing a 2019 bill that would have prohibited abortion once a heartbeat was detected, Fox News reports. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones had temporarily blocked the bill in October, but ruled Monday that House Bill 481 is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.

In filing suit against the bill, abortion advocates pointed out that a heartbeat can be detected by ultrasound from as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, even before many women know they are pregnant.

Giving his ruling, Judge Jones wrote: “The court rejects the state defendants’ argument that the statutory purpose solely concerns ‘promoting fetal well-being.’ Instead, HB 481’s specific references to Roe v. Wade and ‘established abortion-related precedents’ … lends support to plaintiffs’ argument that the purpose of H.B. 481 was to ban or de facto ban abortion.”

The judge rejected the bill in its entirety, including sections that would have granted the fetus personhood and the same rights as people who have been born, Fox News said.

Georgia’s Republican governor Brian Kemp said the state would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. However, Fox News noted, the highest court in the country has already ruled against abortion restrictions in Louisiana. Abortion is currently legal in Georgia up to 20 weeks gestation.

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