‘Heartbeat’ abortion bill becomes law in Georgia

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp yesterday signed a bill banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which usually happens at around six weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she’s pregnant. Known as “heartbeat” bills, other states have signed such restrictive legislation into law: Judges have struck down the laws in North Dakota and Iowa, and Kentucky’s law is temporarily blocked from going into effect. But the laws in Mississippi and Ohio are expected to go into effect in July. Opponents of the Georgia law, including Planned Parenthood, have already vowed to challenge it in court. Supporters of the law, set to take effect Jan. 1, are hoping for a legal challenge all the way to the conservative-majority Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the 1973 Roe. v. Wade decision.