Fulton County judge hears arguments in lawsuit challenging Georgia's six-week abortion law
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)
A Fulton County judge is expected to issue an order soon that could block Georgia’s recently enacted 2019 abortion law. A lawsuit challenging the law got underway Monday in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit against H.B. 481 — which bans the procedure with few exceptions after around six weeks of pregnancy — on behalf of Georgia abortion-rights groups, OB-GYN physicians and abortion providers.
Judges at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect earlier this summer shortly after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade abortion guarantees.
H.B. 481 was previously blocked by a lower court on constitutional grounds after it was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019.
Now, the ACLU is asking the state court to again suspend enforcement of the abortion law while litigation in the case moves forward, arguing it violates privacy protections under Georgia’s constitution.
On Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney heard two hours of arguments from ACLU attorneys and attorneys representing the state of Georgia without issuing a decision in the case.
McBurney closed the hearing, saying he’d take the arguments under advisement.
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