Abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy will remain illegal in Georgia, as confirmed by the state's supreme court ruling on Tuesday. The decision supports the state's six-week ban, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (Life) Act, which was first passed in 2019 and took effect after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year.

A group of abortion rights supporters challenged the ban, arguing that it should be invalidated because it disregarded the constitutional right to abortion recognized by the US in 2019. While a lower court in Georgia agreed with their argument, the Georgia supreme court disagreed.

The justices emphasized that although the US Supreme Court's interpretation of the constitution has changed, the constitution itself has not. They referred to the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, which concluded that the US constitution never included a right to abortion. According to the Georgia supreme court, the Life Act complied with the US constitution when enacted in 2019, even if Roe was still in effect at that time.

"The trial court erred in relying on overruled decisions of the United States Supreme Court to conclude that portions of the Life Act violated the United States constitution when enacted in 2019," stated Justice Verda M Colvin, who penned the court's majority opinion. The court acknowledged that Dobbs is the controlling precedent on the issue of whether the US constitution confers a right to abortion, and it determined that the Life Act did not violate the US constitution when it was enacted.

The enforcement of the six-week ban has significantly impacted abortion access in Georgia. Research conducted by the Society of Family Planning revealed that in the year following Roe's reversal, nearly 20,000 fewer abortions were performed in the state compared to the scenario if Roe had remained in place.

Calla Hales, who manages A Preferred Women's health center, a network of clinics in Georgia, expressed her lack of surprise at the Georgia supreme court's ruling. However, she appreciated the ongoing efforts to challenge the ban. Hales voiced concerns about the erosion of abortion access in the country and remarked on the difficulties faced by her clinics in accommodating patients due to the restrictions imposed by the ban.

The legal battle surrounding Georgia's six-week ban is far from over. As the state supreme court ruling only addressed a portion of the lawsuit, the case will return to a lower court for further proceedings. It has the potential to reach the Georgia supreme court again in the future. The outcome of this ongoing litigation will have significant implications for reproductive rights in the state.

In the meantime, abortion rights advocates and healthcare providers like Hales continue to face challenges in ensuring access to safe and legal abortions for those seeking them, especially as neighboring states like North Carolina have also enacted restrictive abortion laws. The struggle to protect reproductive rights and access to healthcare remains an enduring and pressing issue.