GA Abortion Law: Fulton County DA Says She Won't Prosecute

FULTON COUNTY, GA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced Friday that she would not prosecute abortion cases.

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, which gave women a federal right to have an abortion. In Georgia, the ruling means the LIFE Act passed in 2019 may soon go into law. The bill bans most abortions at six weeks.

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Willis stands with DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, who also said she wouldn’t prosecute any abortion-related cases.

“It is my responsibility as the elected District Attorney to set priorities for the use of my office's resources,” Willis wrote in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I will not be using precious tax dollars allocated to this office to pursue prosecutions based on women’s personal healthcare choices.”

The measure is on hold right now before the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals awaiting a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Mississippi case.

With the 6-3 ruling Friday in the Mississippi case, the 11th Circuit is likely to allow the six-week ban to take effect relatively quickly, having already heard oral arguments in the case, although there could be fresh legal challenges. That would ban the large majority of abortions that currently take place in Georgia – about 87 percent according to providers.