A judge in Georgia on Tuesday overturned the state's six-week abortion ban that took effect in July after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed of Roe v. Wade.

The Georgia law was originally passed in 2019 but prevented from taking effect because Roe v. Wade was then the law. The "heartbeat bill" bans abortions once embryonic cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that the Georgia law is unconstitutional because it was passed when abortions were legal under Roe v. Wade.

McBurney wrote that "everywhere in America, including Georgia, it was unequivocally unconstitutional for governments — federal, state, or local — to ban abortions before viability."

A federal appeals court in July permitted Georgia to enforce the ban after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

McBurney acknowledged that the ban "may someday become the law of Georgia" following the Supreme Court's decision, but that Georgia lawmakers would have to pass a new law.

Most abortions are now banned in 13 states in the U.S. Bans in 10 other states are on hold because of legal challenges.

Abortion