Georgia Supreme Court reinstates law allowing abortions up to six weeks

The Georgia Supreme Court on November 23 temporarily reinstated a state law that allows abortions through the first six weeks of pregnancy.

In a one-page order issued on Wednesday, the court overturned a lower court's decision to block the Georgia law. The Supreme Court's order issuing a stay in the case means the law is reinstated while the court considers an appeal on the merits from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, Fox News reports.

The Superior Court of Fulton County this month ruled that the law violated the US Constitution when it was enacted by the state legislature three years ago. It was blocked for three years until the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, freeing states to pass their own laws on abortion.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in his Nov. 15 opinion that when the law was signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, "everywhere in America, including Georgia, it was unequivocally unconstitutional for governments — federal, state, or local — to ban abortions before viability." Carr immediately appealed to the state's Supreme Court.

Fox News Digital reported on Wednesday that Democrats, who focused on abortion for months ahead of the midterm elections, failed to unseat Kemp, one of the most pro-life governors in the country. But in the Georgia Senate runoff between Republican Herschel Walker and incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock, the issue is still seen as a deciding factor.

A Fox News poll from late October, conducted before the election, found that inflation was the top issue for Georgians at 38 per cent — an increase from 28 per cent in July. Among those who care about inflation, Walker was ahead by 43 points. Abortion was the most important issue to 18 per cent of voters, and election integrity was on the top of the minds to 12 per cent, and Warnock leads both groups by at least 40 points.