ATLANTA — Georgia’s abortion providers rushed Thursday to call disappointed pregnant people.
After nearly a half-century with the federal right to an abortion, it was the first full day most abortions sought were illegal in the state.
A federal appeals court ruling allowed Georgia’s restrictive “heartbeat” abortion law to take effect Wednesday, nearly a month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The 2019 Georgia law that had been held up in court now bans abortion in most cases after a doctor detects fetal cardiac activity, which is usually about six weeks into a pregnancy — and before many women and teenagers know they are pregnant. Before, Georgia allowed abortions up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy.
