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A Win for Reproductive Justice
On Monday, September 30, 2024, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney once again struck down Georgia’s six-week draconian abortion ban in Sistersong v. State of Georgia. This ruling is Judge McBurney's second attempt at standing firm in the protection of a woman's constitutional right to bodily autonomy and the rule of law.
In his first attempt on November 15, 2022, Judge McBurney upheld the right to abortion in Georgia. McBurney ruled that the state’s six-week abortion ban was void from the start because it was passed when Roe v. Wade was still in effect. McBurney’s ruling followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, which overturned Roe and left the issue of abortion to every individual state to decide. As such, McBurney struck down Georgia’s abortion ban as void from the start and charged the Georgia legislature to reintroduce new abortion legislation to be voted on within the legislative process.
Unfortunately, on October 24, 2023, Judge McBurney’s ruling was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court. That Court disregarded long-standing precedent that a law violating either the state or federal Constitution at the time of its enactment is void from the start. As such, Georgia’s six-week abortion ban was allowed to take effect, and Georgia citizens have since faced the consequences of this devastating decision until now.
When the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the LIFE Act (known as Georgia’s six-week abortion ban), it remanded the case back to the trial court, in this case, Fulton County Superior Court, to be ruled on other claims not addressed in its order.
Almost a year later, Judge McBurney once again struck down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban as unenforceable under the Georgia Constitution's fundamental right of liberty and privacy. Judge McBurney reasoned that "liberty," in its meaning, protections, and its bundle of rights, includes the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices. As such, this ruling affirmatively reinstates Georgia’s long-standing regulation on abortion, which protects abortion access until 22 weeks of pregnancy or at fetal viability.
Further, Judge McBurney’s new ruling found that a provision of the LIFE Act, which gave Georgia’s district attorneys broad access to the medical records of abortion care patients, is a violation of Georgia citizens’ constitutional right to privacy.
SisterLove, along with its various reproductive justice and reproductive health partners, believes this ruling is a significant step in the right direction towards achieving Reproductive Justice in Georgia. This ruling is a win that should, and will, be celebrated.
The Fight for Reproductive Freedom Continues
The fight for reproductive freedom will continue as we know that Judge McBurney’s decision will likely come before the Georgia Supreme Court, a court that already upheld Georgia’s six-week abortion ban in 2023. If the Court upholds the abortion ban, Georgia citizens will suffer numerous consequences.
Georgia is struggling with hospital closures, maternity and healthcare deserts, and one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the country. According to a 2022 report by the March of Dimes, more than 34.6 counties in Georgia have no access to a birthing center or hospital offering obstetric care. Further, Black women living in Georgia are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than non-Hispanic white women. To learn more about Georgia’s Black maternal health crisis, please view SisterLove’s 2024 Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda here.
Georgia’s six-week abortion ban has already had devastating consequences on the lives of Black women in Georgia. If it were not for this ambiguous, cruel, and unsound abortion ban, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, both mothers to young children, would still be alive today. Amber Thurman and Candi Miller’s stories were made public this past week, even though both deaths occurred in 2022, after Dobbs became the law of the land.
Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee recently concluded that both deaths were preventable. The committee denoted that Georgia’s erroneous abortion ban delayed life-saving emergency medical care for Amber Thurman and scared Candi Miller into silence—believing she could not seek medical care. Even though these are the first two cases reported, it does not mean they are the only cases of young Black women murdered by state-sanctioned violence.
Today we know that politicians got it wrong. Implementing exceptions to abortion bans does not avert outcomes like these, but rather shows that the law’s language produces confusion and death-prone delays. SisterLove believes that abortion is not only essential healthcare but a fundamental human right. Access to safe abortion care is critical, especially in states like Georgia battling a plethora of healthcare deserts and a maternal mortality crisis. As such, we stand vehemently behind Judge McBurney’s recent ruling which struck down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and reinstated abortion access up until the point of fetal viability.
What Can You Do to Protect Reproductive Freedom?
Judge McBurney’s final order in SisterSong v. State of Georgia has had the implicating effect of providing Georgia citizens with hope in the midst of adversity. However, we must continue to fight for the attainment of reproductive justice, freedom, and liberty for all. We cannot allow continued government intrusion and interference in our bodies, which has already proven to have deadly consequences at the hands of sanctioned state violence.
We will continue to say the names of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, and we will continue to tell their stories. SisterLove will be joining its partners and advocates at the Georgia State Capitol during the 2025-2026 legislative session to call for a state-wide mandate that will protect abortion access and prevent any more deaths at the hands of anti-abortion legislation. To join us, become an advocate, and stand with us at the Capitol, please sign on to our E-advocate program.
SisterLove calls on its advocates to support a Georgia state mandate known as the Reproductive Freedom Act (RFA). The RFA, first introduced in the 2023-2024 Georgia legislative session, enshrines fundamental protections for reproductive freedom into Georgia law. The RFA affirms that every individual who becomes pregnant has the right to choose to continue the pregnancy or have an abortion. Further, it prevents individuals from being criminalized for pregnancy loss and protects Georgia citizens from potential aggressive state or local prosecutors.
Join us by signing the petition today, and join us in the fight for Reproductive Justice for all. SisterLove stands firm in the belief that freedom is incomplete if it’s not shared by all. Until every single one of us is free, none of us can truly be free. As such, SisterLove will continue to fight back against reproductive violence at the local, state, and federal level.
Join us in our fight for a federal mandate that will protect abortion access in every single state. On September 5, 2024, SisterLove’s Policy Advocacy and Mobilization program (PAP) team, in partnership with All Above All Catalysts for Abortion Justice, met with the office of congressional representative Hank Johnson, who thereafter agreed to cosponsor the Abortion Justice Act (H.R. 4303) as a necessary step to protect all women and birthers' right to safe and affordable abortion healthcare.
The Abortion Justice Act (AJA), sponsored by congressional representative Ayanna Pressley in 2023, is bold legislation that will shape the future of abortion access by creating a federal right to abortion healthcare, and therefore, a bridge to a world in which care is available for everyone who needs it, without barriers based on who you are, where you live, or how much you can earn. The AJA would protect people’s right to make their own healthcare decisions about abortion, improve the availability and affordability of abortion care, and prevent elected officials from creating barriers to abortion care.
In addition to reinforcing the right to abortion, this bill would remove significant barriers to care; increase investments in people, providers, and organizations supporting abortion care; and create protections for individuals accessing and providing abortions. SisterLove urges you to call on your Congressperson to sign on to the Abortion Justice Act as a necessary step to achieve reproductive freedom for all women and birthers in every single state.
To find your representative, please click here.
