Leading Advocates and Health Care Providers File Motion for Preliminary Injunction on Georgia Abortion Ban

ATLANTA — Leading advocates and health care providers today filed a brief for preliminary injunctive relief in Sistersong v. Kemp, asking the court to block Georgia’s abortion ban from going into effect while the case is ongoing. The motion was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Georgia, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, SisterSong, and medical providers including Feminist Women’s Health Center.

Originally filed in June, the groups’ lawsuit challenges Georgia’s abortion ban that is set to take effect on January 1, 2020. The law bans abortion from the earliest weeks of pregnancy before many women even know they are pregnant.

As the motion for preliminary injunctive relief states, Georgia’s abortion ban is in clear violation of Roe v. Wade and nearly a half-century of Supreme Court precedent reaffirming Roe’s central holding. As the court wrote in 1992, “The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.”

Georgia is one of several states that have passed laws banning abortion this year, representing an unprecedented surge of legislation designed to initiate a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. Aside from Georgia, Alabama passed a near-total ban; Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Ohio passed six-week bans; Missouri passed an eight-week ban; and Utah and Arkansas passed 18-week bans. None of these bans have yet gone into effect, and abortion remains legal in all 50 states.

The ACLU has also challenged the bans in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, and Utah.

The organizations issued the following statements:

“In a state with a critical shortage of medical providers and some of the highest rates of maternal and infant deaths, especially among Black Georgians, politicians should focus on expanding access to reproductive care, not banning abortion before someone even knows they’re pregnant,” said Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.

“This legislation is blatantly unconstitutional under nearly 50 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Politicians should never second guess women’s healthcare decisions,” said Sean J. Young, legal director of the ACLU of Georgia. “Politicians have no business telling women or a couple when to start or expand a family. Our lawsuit asks the court to block the law from taking effect on January 1, 2020.”

“Georgia is one of 12 states that have passed abortion bans this year in the hopes of overturning Roe v. Wade,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “None of these laws are in effect, and we are fighting to keep it that way. For nearly half a century, the Supreme Court has protected the right to abortion, and we know the majority of Americans continue to support abortion access.”

“This year, 37 states introduced abortion bans. Twelve states passed them, including Georgia. If there’s one thing this unprecedented attack on reproductive health and rights has shown us, it’s that we don’t have the luxury of being a health care provider or an advocate. We must be both. Because our patients’ constitutional rights are on the line. And if we don’t continue to fight back, their lives will be on the line too,” said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast.

“As a reproductive justice organization based in Georgia for over 20 years, SisterSong is committed to centering and amplifying the needs of those communities historically pushed to the margins. Georgia’s maternal mortality rate is the second-highest in the nation and Black women in our state are dying at six times the national average. SisterSong is bringing this lawsuit to protect maternal health and reproductive rights so that every person – especially persons of color – can thrive in their families and communities as well as maintain their human right to make their own decisions about their reproductive lives,” said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong.

“Feminist Women’s Health Center has been providing comprehensive reproductive health services, including abortion care, to Georgians since 1976 and mobilizing in our communities since 1996. We are challenging this unconstitutional law because we are committed to serving our patients and to a vision of Georgia where reproductive justice is fully realized for everyone. This clinic stays open,” said Kwajelyn J. Jackson, executive director of Feminist Women’s Health Center.

The organizations bringing forward the lawsuit are 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.