Liberty in Georgia
Georgia women get to make decisions about their own bodies and lives again.
A judge in Georgia has struck down the state’s abortion law that has prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy since it took effect in 2022. Georgia’s Life Act was fully nullified by Judge Robert McBurney’s decision, meaning that the state must now allow abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
The judge wrote in his order that “liberty in Georgia” includes “the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices”.
It’s quite an important liberty, when you think about it.
Gov Kemp’s office criticised the judge’s ruling on Monday. “Once again, the will of Georgians and their representatives have been overruled by the personal beliefs of one judge,” Garrison Douglas, Kemp’s spokesperson, said in a statement. “Protecting the lives of the most vulnerable among us is one of our most sacred responsibilities, and Georgia will continue to be a place where we fight for the lives of the unborn.”
The category “the most vulnerable among us” does not include processes in other people’s abdomens. Pregnancy is a process; it’s not yet a person.
Apparently the same judge ruled the law unconstitutional before (on different grounds, I guess), but the ruling was overturned on appeal. Probably will happen again, unfortunately.
A footnote to the column I linked to above: apparently neither the judge nor Ruth Marcus has gotten the memo about the w- word. Both refer to “women” more than once.
“Pregnancy is a process; it’s not yet a person.”
Though even if it was, it is still the mother’s right to determine if people get to remain embedded in her own body.
My cat has much greater claim to personhood than any stage of pregnancy, including the infant. He’s got personality, memory, skills, and sentimental value. What use is any part of the baby spectrum?