Quick Hit:

A Fulton County judge struck down Georgia's 2022 abortion ban, allowing abortions up to 22 weeks for now. The decision reignites the ongoing legal battle over reproductive rights in the state.

Key Details:

• The ruling by Judge Robert McBurney permits abortions until around 22 weeks of pregnancy.
• McBurney previously overturned the law in 2022, but the Georgia Supreme Court reinstated it.
• Abortion rates in Georgia dropped significantly since the ban took effect, according to the Society of Family Planning.

Diving Deeper:

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney once again struck down Georgia’s 2022 abortion ban, reigniting the state's contentious legal battle over reproductive rights. In a decision handed down Monday, McBurney ruled that the law, which prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, was unconstitutional. The ruling temporarily allows abortions in Georgia up until approximately 22 weeks.

McBurney argued that the state has no right to intervene until a fetus reaches viability. "When a fetus growing inside a woman reaches viability, when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then—and only then—may society intervene," McBurney wrote in his ruling.

The 2022 law, which banned abortions once cardiac activity is detected, was initially overturned by McBurney after he ruled in favor of abortion rights advocates. He found that the ban was passed illegally, as it contradicted the standing federal precedent of Roe v. Wade. However, the Georgia Supreme Court later overturned McBurney’s ruling, allowing the law to go into effect.

Since the ban's implementation, Georgia has seen its monthly abortion rates cut by half, according to data from the Society of Family Planning. ProPublica also reported that two Georgia women died from abortion-related complications after the law went into effect.

The ongoing legal battle has abortion rights activists and anti-abortion advocates locked in a tense standoff. Monica Simpson, executive director of the nonprofit SisterSong and a lead plaintiff in the case, acknowledged that the fight is far from over. "We still know there is a strong possibility this will not last very long," Simpson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.