Planned Parenthood Southeast Returns to Court to Keep Georgia’s Abortion Ban Blocked
By Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates | Sept. 23, 2021, 6:30 p.m.
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ATLANTA – This Friday, September 24, Planned Parenthood Southeast and its legal partners return to federal court for oral arguments in SisterSong v Kemp, the lawsuit challenging Georgia’s 2019 six-week abortion ban. The law is in clear violation of Roe v. Wade and nearly a half century of Supreme Court precedent.
In December 2019, the U.S. District Court in Atlanta struck down the abortion ban, which was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2020, as unconstitutional. Although the State of Georgia appealed the decision, the court’s ruling blocks the law’s implementation as litigation proceeds.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta will hear oral arguments this Friday, September 24, 2021. This court proceeding is entirely virtual.
Details below.
Who: Three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit
When: Friday, September 24, 2021, at 9:30 a.m.
Where: Live streamed here and here
Background
The Georgia law – H.B. 481 – bans abortion care as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant. Georgia’s abortion ban is in clear violation of Roe v. Wade and nearly a half century of U.S. Supreme Court precedent reaffirming Roe’s central holding. The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, the ACLU of Georgia, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America in June 2019.
These organizations represent a wide-range of health providers, including SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Feminist Women’s Health Center, Planned Parenthood Southeast, Inc., Atlanta Comprehensive Wellness Clinic, Atlanta Women’s Medical Center, FemHealth USA d/b/a carafem, Columbus Women’s Health Organization, P.C., Summit Medical Associates, P.C., Carrie Cwiak, M.D., M.P.H., Lisa Haddad, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., and Eva Lathrop, M.D., M.P.H.
The defendants in the case are Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Attorney General Christopher M. Carr, Commissioner for the Department of Public Health Kathleen Toomey, the Executive Director and Members of the Georgia Composite Medical Board, and the District Attorneys for the counties where the plaintiffs provide medical care — all sued in their official capacities.
SisterSong v. Kemp was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
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As the organizing, advocacy, and electoral arm of Planned Parenthood Southeast, Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates (PPSEA) engages in electoral activities including voter education and mobilization. We believe elected officials should support policies and programs that help women and their families make responsible choices about the prevention of unintended pregnancies and plan for healthy families. PPSEA works to educate and mobilize the public and elect lawmakers who support these policies.
Tags: Abortion, Georgia, abortion access, Brian Kemp