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Georgia's "Heartbeat law" has been overturned

Activists from all over gathered in downtown Athens to fight for abortion rights
Nicole Jordan / WUGA
Activists from gathered in downtown Athens in June 2022 to protest the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

Georgia’s controversial abortion law, which bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, has been overturned by a Fulton County judge.

The law was passed in 2019, but took effect this July after the Supreme Court overturned nearly 50 years of abortion protections.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Tuesday that since the law was passed when Roe v Wade was in place, it is therefore void. The decision immediately overturns the ban and takes Georgia's abortion restrictions back to how they were prior to implementation of the "heartbeat law."

The Georgia General Assembly will have to vote on and pass the law again in the upcoming legislative session for it to be considered constitutional.

The state has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court of Georgia.

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