Peach Tree Times

In a Sept. 24 hearing, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held off on a decision to overturn a previous blocking of Gov. Brian Kemp’s "heartbeat" bill, which protects fetuses after approximately six weeks of life, when a heartbeat is detectable.  

The court decided to wait until the Supreme Court rules on a related Mississippi case, which could hypothetically overturn the high court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade, banning abortion after 15 weeks, Fox 5 reported. 

“I think that’s the prudent way to proceed," Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor told lawyers on either side of the case, according to the Associated Press. "You’re both saying you don’t have a problem with that. Don’t you agree, though, that that’s really what we ought to do? I mean it’s not every day that … we can allow the Supreme Court to do some work for us.” 

After Kemp signed the law in May 2019, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued on behalf of Georgia abortion providers and an advocacy group to block the law, the AP reported. In July 2020, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled that the law was unconstitutional, and the state appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit, the AP said.

The law provided exceptions for rape and incest, if a police report was filed, the AP said. Later abortions would be permitted when the mother’s life was at risk or a serious medical condition rendered a fetus unviable, according to the AP.

The law also would have granted personhood to a fetus, giving it the same legal rights as people have after birth.

Under current law, abortion is available in Georgia up to 20 weeks into pregnancy.