Georgia appeals federal ruling blocking ‘heartbeat law’
Less than a year after a federal judge blocked Georgia’s heartbeat ban, the state has filed an appeal.
In May of 2019, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 481 into law. The law banned abortion after a preborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks gestation. In October of the same year, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued a temporary injunction against the law, and permanently blocked it from taking effect in July. Governor Kemp immediately signaled that the state planned to appeal the ruling.
The Associated Press (AP) announced that the state has begun the appeal process, predictably drawing ire from the ACLU, one of the groups which filed lawsuits against the law that eventually led to Jones’ rulings. “The district court blocked Georgia’s abortion ban because it violates over 50 years of Supreme Court precedent and fails to trust women to make their own personal decisions,” Sean Young, legal director for the ACLU of Georgia, said in a statement to the AP. “This case has always been about one thing: letting her decide. Abortion care remains legal throughout the State of Georgia.”
Jones’ ruling claimed that Georgia’s law violated the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which declares that no state may “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
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Yet ironically, this is what Jones is allowing to happen; his ruling allows human beings to be deprived of their lives solely because of their size and status.
It is a biological fact that preborn children, from the moment of fertilization, are unique human beings, distinct from their mothers. At that moment, the baby already has his or her own unique DNA, with numerous traits, such as gender, ethnicity, eye color, and hair color, already determined. The baby’s heart begins beating between 16 and 21 days after fertilization, and brain waves can be detected by six weeks gestation.
By seven weeks, all four chambers of the baby’s heart are present, with 90% of all bodily structures present in adults formed by eight weeks. At nine weeks, the baby has begun growing hair follicles, fingernails, and toenails. By 10 weeks, the baby can swallow, scratch his head, and form his hands into fists.
Jones’ ruling is a form of legalized discrimination. All human beings deserve to be protected, regardless of their size, development, or environment.
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