Georgia governor signs fetal heartbeat bill into law
The AP (5/7, Nadler, Mansoor) reports that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) today “signed into law one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws, a measure that bans the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks.”
The Washington Post (5/7, Wax-Thibodeaux, Cha) reports that Kemp said he is “upholding his promise to enact the ‘toughest abortion bill in the country.’” According to the Post, Georgia is “the fourth state to enact such legislation in 2019,” and “similar ‘heartbeat’ bills are in the works in 10 other states.” The ACLU and others have vowed to challenge the law in court.
The New York Times (5/7, Mazzei, Blinder) reports the law is slated for implementation at the start of 2020. The new law “prohibits most abortions once doctors can discern a fetal heartbeat, a milestone that occurs before some women know they are pregnant,” meaning “in practice, the limit on abortion in Georgia will now be six weeks of pregnancy, instead of 20 weeks.” The law includes exceptions “to prevent death or serious harm to the woman, and in cases of rape or incest in which a police report has been filed.” source ; AMA morning Rounds 5/8/2019