The Georgia Supreme Court has – for now – kept the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act in place, protecting virtually all preborn children from abortion within the state. On October 24, the court rejected a lower court’s ruling calling the law invalid, meaning that the law will continue to stay in place for the time being.
Originally signed in 2019, the law was not able to take effect until Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Almost immediately, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of pro-abortion groups, including Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. Fulton County Judge Robert C.I. McBurney issued a block on the law in November, calling it “unequivocally unconstitutional” because it had been enacted before the fall of Roe. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr appealed the ruling, asking the Supreme Court to step in; they temporarily allowed the law to be reinstated until the Supreme Court’s final ruling.
The Associated Press reported that the Supreme Court ruled against McBurney in a 6-1 ruling.
“When the United States Supreme Court overrules its own precedent interpreting the United States Constitution, we are then obligated to apply the Court’s new interpretation of the Constitution’s meaning on matters of federal constitutional law,” Justice Verda Colvin wrote for the majority.
The law will therefore remain in place while the Fulton County Superior Court hears more arguments from the pro-abortion groups about why it should be overturned.
Claire Bartlett, executive director of the Georgia Life Alliance, called the ruling a “huge win” in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re thrilled to pieces about the news,” she said. “The battle continues as it goes back to Fulton Superior Judge Robert McBurney for determination of their claim that there’s a right under the Georgia constitution to abortion, which in our reading it does not. But we shall see.”
The ruling was likewise applauded by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in a statement to the Associated Press, saying, “Today’s victory represents one more step towards ending this litigation and ensuring the lives of Georgians at all ages are protected.”
