WABE's Week In Review: More Roe impact in Georgia and a review of the new state voting laws in 2022

People gather in front of the Georgia State Capital in Atlanta on Friday, June 24, 2022, to protest the Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Abortion is currently legal in Georgia up to 20 weeks after fertilization, but that could soon change with a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a new law into effect that bans most abortions six weeks or so after fertilization. The federal court indicated it would wait to rule on Georgia’s law until after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which it did last month.

Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr has requested the 11th Circuit to allow the new restrictive ban to go into effect.

The 11th Circuit has asked all parties to the Sistersong et al v. Kemp case to submit more materials by mid-July. A ruling could soon follow.

In the meantime, the Savannah Medical Clinic announced it would close after 40 years. Just days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, the clinic said on its website it was no longer taking appointments.

Enforcing abortion bans will fall heavily on local district attorneys. Get more on what some metro Atlanta district attorneys are saying about how they will or will not enforce restrictive new measures.

Biggest test yet for Georgia’s new voting changes…

Georgia Republicans passed a sweeping new election law last year. And while the state saw record turnout for a midterm primary in May, the share of voters who used an absentee ballot took a nosedive.

Get more from WABE Politics Reporter Sam Gringlas who reviewed the numbers.

Blues, travelin’? Passengers hope to avoid the runaround this holiday weekend…

Also in this episode…

— Lily Oppenheimer has more from legal experts who are telling women to be extra careful with their digital information in light of the U.S. Supreme court’s ruling overturning Roe.

— We get more on Dekalb County’s district attorney not filing charges against officers who fatally shot Matthew Zadok Williams more than a year ago.

— Stephannie Stokes explains how Atlanta’s City Council is eyeing to add further punishments to negligent landlords.

— Emily Jones has a two-part series on how the ever-expanding Port of Savannah is adding warehouse sprawl along Georgia’s coast.

— Molly Samuel reviews a triumphant return of sea turtles on Georgia’s beaches.