ATLANTA — The issue of abortion is not settled in Georgia. At least for now.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that the 2019 “heartbeat bill,” which largely prohibits abortion roughly six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, is void. He said its passage was largely the equivalent of legislative dinner theater, a political show vote by lawmakers fishing for a battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.
McBurney is a quirky, busy fellow who often makes legal matters more interesting for us in the cheap seats. In his 15-page opinion, he wrote about “math” and “mystical higher wisdom,” tossed in a little Latin and even fifth-grade English, questioning the legislators’ verbiage: “The statute refers to a ‘detectable human heartbeat,’ “ he added in a footnote, “but it is unclear why the second adjective is necessary.”
