ACLU Filing Suit Against Georgia Abortion Heartbeat Bill

ATLANTA -- The ACLU of Georgia is filing a lawsuit on Friday against Georgia's controversial new abortion restrictions, set to take effect in 2020. The ACLU, along with the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Southeast have filed in federal district court SisterSong v Kemp, which seeks to overturn the so-called Heartbeat Bill, which was passed by lawmakers earlier this year.

The bill, authored by a suburban Atlanta Republican lawmaker, outlaws most abortions after about six weeks, which is when a fetal heartbeat is usually first detected. It would allow abortions in cases where the mother's life or health is in danger, or in cases of medical emergency. It also says an unborn child at any stage of development in the womb would be included in state population-based counts.

“Reproductive freedom means that these are private, personal decisions that a woman makes based on her own faith, her own family, and advice from her own physician,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia. “Politicians have no place in these personal decisions.”

“Feminist Women’s Health Center has been providing comprehensive reproductive health services, including abortion care, to Georgians since 1976 and mobilizing in our communities since 1996," said Kwajelyn J. Jackson, executive director of Feminist Women’s Health Center. "We are challenging this unconstitutional law because we are committed to serving our patients, and to a vision of Georgia where reproductive justice is fully realized for everyone."

Gov. Brian Kemp, who supported the bill during his successful gubernatorial campaign last year, signed the bill a few weeks after the General Assembly adjourned.

Numerous Hollywood celebrities and entertainment industry leaders continue to protest the bill, threatening to leave Georgia, one of the world's top film production centers, should the law go into effect next year.

“We are certainly not surprised by this legally flawed lawsuit, but it is nonetheless chilling to see further confirmation that the abortion industry cares far more for profit than human life," said Cole Muzio, president and executive director of the Family Policy Alliance of Georgia. "They care little for answering the question of when life begins or explaining how an unborn child with a beating heart is not worthy of protection."

“The ACLU’s lawsuit sends a clear signal that Georgians will hold politicians accountable for their all-out assault on the reproductive health and safety of Georgia women," said NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia State Director Laura Simmons. "Seven in 10 Georgians support safe, legal access to abortion and reject government intrusion into private medical decisions and we will not stop fighting until every Georgian has the right to determine our own destinies.”

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• Clint Eastwood Starts Filming New Movie This Summer In Atlanta
• Ron Howard, Brian Glazer To Boycott GA If Abortion Bill Stands
• Alyssa Milano: Don't Have Sex Until GA's Abortion Law Is Dumped
• One Of Nation's Toughest Abortion Bills Signed Into Law In GA
• Hollywood Threatens Boycott As GA Heartbeat Bill Is Approved
• Cobb Lawmakers Targeted For Opposing Heartbeat Bill
• Cobb-Led 'Heartbeat Bill' Clears Another Hurdle, Heads To Senate
• House Passes Cobb-Led Heartbeat Bill | Dems Shun Acworth Lawmaker
• Decatur Democrat Escorted From Podium In Abortion Debate