Georgia judge strikes down six-week abortion ban, declaring it unconstitutional

A Superior Court judge in Georgia on Tuesday overturned the state's ban on abortions after six weeks, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution.

The ruling was overturned by Judge Robert McBurney of Fulton County. The ban has been in effect since July.

The anti-abortion law was criticized for prohibiting the majority of abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” was found, with many pro-abortion groups arguing most women don't know when they are pregnant before six weeks. 

The ban was signed into law by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, but did not go into effect until the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June of this year. 

In his decision, McBurney also claimed the ban violated the right to privacy and liberty under the Georgia and U.S. Constitution.