The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the state’s heartbeat law that has protected thousands of babies from abortions.
In a major victory for life, the Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act – heartbeat protections signed into law in 2019 by Governor Brian Kemp. The law has been in effect during litigation from abortion advocacy groups and saved thousands of babies.
The state’s highest court rejected a lower court ruling that the heartbeat law was invalid. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it was adopted before the Dobbs decision, but Dobbs now certifies the right of states to protect babies from abortions.
“As the majority opinion explains, ‘the United States Constitution, not the United States Supreme Court, is the source of the Constitution’s meaning; the United States Supreme Court has no power to amend the Constitution through interpretation; and the text of the United States Constitution has not been amended since the LIFE Act was enacted,’” the court wrote.
It added: “‘Thus, the United States Constitution means today what it meant when the LIFE Act was enacted in 2019, even if the United States Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution has changed.’ Today’s majority opinion further explains that Georgia courts must follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent pronouncement on the meaning of the U.S. Constitution when determining whether a statutory law violates that Constitution.”
A leading pro-life group applauded the decision in comments to LifeNews.
“Today’s Georgia Supreme Court decision ensures that tens of thousands of children with beating hearts will continue to be protected from brutal abortions. It is the latest vindication of the will of Georgians, who have compassion for both babies and mothers, along with lawmakers like Governor Kemp and many others who heard them and acted,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser.
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“Twenty-five states – half the country – have pro-life protections in their law in the new Dobbs era. The majority of these states protect unborn children at least when their heartbeat can be detected, a point when science shows they have more than a 90% chance of surviving to birth,” she added. “We congratulate Governor Kemp, Attorney General Carr, all our local allies, and the people of Georgia on a long and well-fought battle. Life is winning in hearts and minds nationwide. When you lead and stand boldly for life, Americans will stand with you.”
The law also counts babies in the womb as part of Georgia’s population. Parents can claim them as dependents on state income taxes, and mothers can receive child support from the beginning of pregnancy. As of 2019, data show Georgia’s pregnancy centers also provided $8 million in services and aid to more than 48,000 women, men, youth and families.
Georgia Life Alliance was aloso elated by the ruling.
“In an age when states like Maine allow babies to be aborted through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason, and Ohio is fighting against a constitutional measure to enshrine abortion and deny parental rights, we are thankful for the courage and strength of Attorney General Chris Carr and his staff for staunchly defending Georgia’s law and protecting the most vulnerable Georgians,” it told LifeNews.
It added: “We are forever thankful for the political will shown by Georgia’s pro-life elected officials including Governor Brian Kemp, Senator Ed Setzler, Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson, and Senator Renee Unterman (ret.) who all fought for the LIFE Act’s passage in 2019.”
The Georgia law allows abortions in the case off rape or incest for reported rape and has a life of the mother provision for extremely rare circumstances.
The Georgia heartbeat law has been saving as many as 1,800 unborn babies from abortion every month since it went into effect last year.
State health department data obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows a nearly 50-percent drop in abortions, going from about 4,000 per month in the first half of 2022 to about 2,176 per month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson.
Prior to the law, about 35,000 unborn babies were aborted annually, according to state health department data.
After the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, Georgia began enforcing the life-saving law. A court temporarily blocked enforcement in November, but the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the decision a few weeks later.
In Georgia, the heartbeat law does not just ban elective abortions; it also allows parents to claim unborn babies as dependents on their taxes and include the unborn baby in census data. Additionally, mothers may collect child support for pregnancy and delivery costs from the father prior to the baby’s birth.
