Abortion rights advocates nationwide hailed a state judge’s decision Monday to overturn Georgia’s strict six-week abortion ban that they say “caused suffering in the state for the last two years” as a “massive win."
The seismic ruling upending the battleground state’s Republican-driven ban on abortions after six weeks was found to violate the Constitution and restored the procedure to 22 weeks.
“Women are not some piece of collectively owned community property the disposition of which is decided by majority vote," Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his ruling.
Abortion rights advocates largely blamed the ban, in place since 2022, for the pregnancy-related deaths of two Georgia woman.
“Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller should still be alive — and they would be if it weren’t for Donald Trump and Brian Kemp’s abortion ban,” Reproductive Freedom For All wrote Monday on X in a post echoed by dozens of similar organizations.
Thurman spent 20 hours waiting in a Georgia hospital for doctors to perform a procedure criminalized by the state’s abortion ban, according to ProPublica. Miller’s health issues resulted in pregnancy complications but she could not obtain an abortion because of the law before attempting the procedure on herself, the publication reported.
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“Amber and Candi should be here today," the Center for Reproductive Rights said. “Georgia’s extreme abortion ban is to blame for their deaths and the needless pain and suffering of countless others who have been denied access to timely abortion care. These cruel laws should never have been in place to begin with.”
While Monday’s ruling by a state judge was roundly seen as a victory for abortion rights advocates, some cautioned that it remains unknown how long the ban’s reversal would last.
The nonprofit organization Abortion Front Abortions praised the ruling, but added: “and though we aren't sure when that goes into effect, this is a huge win!”
The ruling will likely be appealed to the conservative Georgia Supreme Court.
