GA Abortion Law: DeKalb DA Says She Won't Prosecute

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced Friday that she would not prosecute abortion cases.

Her statement was released shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. She referred to the ruling as a “dark day.” 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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“It is my duty to proceed with prosecutions that are in the best interest of the community for which I was elected to serve, and to lead with an eye toward public safety. Criminalizing abortion undermines public safety and public trust,” Boston wrote.

“Further, it threatens the lives, health, and well-being of marginalized individuals whose access to safe abortion procedures will be restricted greater than others. We are creating dangerous ‘have’ and ‘have not’ scenarios that operate contrary to the bedrock of public safety. It is my job as DA to make sure that the laws I prosecute are enforced in a fair and equitable manner without inflicting unnecessary public harm.”

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.