Impacts of Georgia's abortion restrictions are likely to ripple across the Southeast

Georgia’s status as a regional destination for abortion access in the Southeast is likely to change now that the state’s restrictive law banning most abortions after around six weeks — before many people know they’re pregnant — is in effect.

On Wednesday, a federal court in Atlanta enacted the 2019 law. A lower court had previously blocked it on constitutional grounds. Still, when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals revisited the case after the Supreme Court recently overturned Roe v. Wade protections, the 11th Circuit ruled that Georgia’s law could take effect.

So, overnight, Georgia has become one of the states with the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. It outlaws abortion once electrical activity is detected in the womb.