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Appeals court says Georgia abortion law should take effect

Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File
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AP
FILE - Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, center, signs legislation in Atlanta, on May 7, 2019, banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks before many women know they're pregnant.

A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling and says Georgia’s restrictive 2019 abortion law should be allowed to take effect. The Georgia law bans most abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is present. Cardiac activity can be detected by ultrasound in cells within an embryo that will eventually become the heart as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. That's before many women realize they’re pregnant. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Mississippi case that overturned Roe v. Wade clears the way for the law to take effect. The Georgia law had been on hold.