Georgia Fetal heartbeat law allowed to stand by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

SISTERSONG WOMEN OF COLOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE COLLECTIVE 11th Circuit July 20, 2022 

In an opinion by  William Pryor, C.J. a panel of three judges lifts the District Court injunction against Georgia's "fetal heartbeat" law.  The unanimous panel decision Court declares:

We VACATE the injunction, REVERSE the judgment in favor of the abortionists, and REMAND with instructions to enter judgment in favor of the state officials.  

 The Georgia fetal heartbeat law House Bill 481 has been allowed to stand by 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.  As I have been warning the 14th Amendment fetal personhood argument against abortion is the sleeper issue that will haunt us for the foreseeable future.  The 14th Amendment fetal personhood argument was voiced in an amicus brief by Notre Dame natural lawyer John Finnis and Princeton's Robert George. Georgia has joined issue. Its `fetal heartbeat' law now effectively bars almost all abortions.  And the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has now allowed the law to stand.

The measure limits abortion and provides a cause of action on behalf of an aborted fetus.  It provides, most dramatically:

Modern medical science, not available decades ago, demonstrates that unborn  children are a class of living, distinct persons and more expansive state recognition of  unborn children as persons did not exist when Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and  Roe v. Wade (1973) established abortion related precedents;  (4) The State of Georgia, applying reasoned judgment to the full body of modern medical  science, recognizes the benefits of providing full legal recognition to an unborn child  above the minimum requirements of federal law.

(5) Article I, Section I, Paragraphs I and II of the Constitution of the State of Georgia  affirm that "[n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due  process of law"; and that "[p]rotection to person and property is the paramount duty of  government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal  protection of the laws"; and (6) It shall be the policy of the State of Georgia to recognize unborn children as natural persons. 

Its implications are enormous. What does "full legal recognition of an unborn child" permit? Circuit Judge William Pryor - a prominent conservative fourteen of whose clerks have gone on to clerk for Clarence Thomas - snidely refers to the plaintiffs as "abortionists".  But his opinion persuasively draws on the majority opinion of Samuel Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health

Georgia’s prohibition on abortions after detectable human heartbeat is rational. See H.B. 481 § 4(b). “[R]espect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development” is a legitimate interest. Dobbs, 142 S. Ct. at 2284. The Georgia Legislature’s findings acknowledge a state interest in “providing full legal recognition to an unborn child.” H.B. 481 § 2(4). That “legitimate interest[] provide[s] a rational basis for” and “justif[ies]” the Act. Dobbs, 142 S. Ct. at 2284.