Federal judge to rule on Georgia ‘heartbeat’ law

A federal judge in Atlanta heard arguments Monday as to whether he should delay the start of Georgia’s new abortion law.

The legislation, dubbed the “Heartbeat Law,” bans virtually all abortions after a heartbeat has been detected in the womb, which is typically during the sixth week of pregnancy.

When Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law earlier this year, he and other proponents anticipated legal challenges. That was the whole point, political observers speculate – to get the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is now made up of a majority of conservative-leaning justices.

Georgia is one of several Republican-run states that passed similar laws, basically in an attempt to overturn Roe vs. Wade and outlaw most abortions in the United States.

As expected, soon after the bill signing, the ACLU of Georgia filed a lawsuit claiming the law is “blatantly unconstitutional under nearly 50 years of Supreme Court precedent.”