Georgia
Georgia abortion ban temporarily reinstated while state supreme court considers case
The Georgia Supreme Court has temporarily reinstated a 6-week abortion ban across the state effective one week after a state court overturned the law, declaring it unconstitutional in a 26-page opinion that compared the state’s abortion ban to the Handmaid’s Tale. The 2019 ban, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, will be reinstated at 5 p.m. on Oct. 7, meaning abortion will once again be inaccessible for the vast majority of Georgia residents until the state supreme court issues a decision.
More: Judge rules Georgia’s six week abortion ban unconstitutional
When the six-week abortion ban was overturned on Sept. 30, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr immediately appealed the ruling, and filed an emergency motion requesting that the state supreme court reinstate the LIFE Act while the justices considered the case. The court’s ruling today granted that injunction, temporarily preventing the lower court’s ruling from taking effect.
The renewed battle over Georgia’s abortion law is the latest development in a yearslong court case that was filed shortly after the law took effect in 2022. It comes a few weeks after reporting from ProPublica found that the law forced healthcare providers to delay medical care to pregnant patients, and linked the deaths of at least two women — Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller — to the ban. The story drew national attention, with Vice President Kamala Harris visiting Atlanta to promote reproductive rights across the state.
More: Kamala Harris addresses abortion bans, reproductive rights at Atlanta rally
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, the organization that originally filed the lawsuit challenging Georgia’s abortion ban, condemned the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision in a statement released Monday.
“Today, the Georgia Supreme Court sided with anti-abortion extremists,” Monica Simpson, the executive director of SisterSong said. “Every minute this harmful six-week abortion ban is in place, Georgians suffer. Denying our community members the lifesaving care they deserve jeopardizes their lives, safety, and health—all for the sake of power and control over our bodies.”
She also highlighted the deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, who were both women of color in a state where Black women are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
“The right to bodily autonomy transcends partisanship; it’s a human right that every Georgian deserves,” Simpson added. “We still believe in a Georgia where we all have the right to decide whether or not to have children and raise those children in safe, sustainable communities.”
Feminist Women’s Health Center, an Atlanta-based abortion provider that quickly resumed abortion care during the week that the ban was lifted, also condemned the ruling.
“Once again, we are being forced to turn away those in need of abortion care beyond six weeks of pregnancy and deny them care that we are fully capable of providing to change their lives,” Feminist Women’s Health Center Executive Director Kwajelyn Jackson said in a statement. “This ban has wreaked havoc on Georgians’ lives, and our patients deserve better. The state of Georgia has chosen to subject our community to those devastating harms once again, even in light of the deadly consequences we have already witnessed.”
The Georgia attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Read the Georgia Supreme Court’s order below:
Maya Homan is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY who focuses on Georgia politics. She is @MayaHoman on X, formerly Twitter.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Storm activity is expected to fire up around midday, starting inland from the Gulf sea breeze. From there, storms will track eastward at 20-25 mph, and that faster movement is actually good news for flooding concerns.
Some minor, temporary flooding is possible through tonight, especially in low-lying areas and spots that typically flood during heavy rain events.
The best chances for stronger storms and heavier rainfall will be north and near I-10 during the afternoon and evening hours.
The Weather Prediction Center has placed roughly the northern two-thirds of the area under a marginal risk of excessive rainfall.
What to expect through the night
Rain chances will stay elevated into the evening but should taper off after midnight. However, inland Northeast Florida could see a late round of showers or storms develop due to enhanced west coast sea breeze.
Gusty winds and frequent lightning can’t be ruled out. Always have your indoor plan ready to go for shelter access.
Cooler temperatures, patchy fog round out the forecast
High temperatures will run below average, topping out in the mid-to-upper 80s. Overnight lows will range from the upper 60s to near 70 degrees across inland Southeast Georgia, with mid-70s expected closer to the Atlantic coast.
Patchy fog is expected early this morning and again Sunday morning. Brief periods of dense fog are possible, so drivers should use caution on the roads during those early morning hours.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Georgia baseball will resume its NCAA Athens Regional game with Long Island at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 29, after persistent rain—heavy at times—forced the suspension of the game.
The Bulldogs have a commanding 15-1 lead with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth.
The teams and some fans waited out a delay that started 7:14 p.m.
The game was suspended officially at 9:06 p.m. Long Island players were already grabbing their equipment in the dugout to depart for the team hotel before then.
The winner of Georgia-LIU will play No. 3 seed Liberty Saturday in the double-elimination tournament in a game scheduled for 5 p.m.
The loser will play No. 2 seed Boston College at noon.
The No. 3 national seed Bulldogs hit six homers before the game was delayed due to heavy rain.
There was a 53 percent chance of rain at 9 a.m. Saturday, according to weather.com, decreasing to 17 percent at 11 a.m., but there’s a threat of storms in the afternoon.
The Georgia Public Service Commission this week approved a plan expected to reduce utility bills for Georgia Power customers by a few dollars a month.
The commission said the change will generate about $285 million in total annual savings for Georgia Power customers, or roughly $50 per year — about $4.04 per month — for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.
The Georgia PSC voted Thursday to lower overall rates as part of the approved plan.
Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tyler Cook said the decision will provide “real savings for Georgia families and businesses as the heat of summer begins and energy use increases.”
“At Georgia Power, our teams work every day to run our business efficiently and keep reliable and affordable energy flowing to our customers,” Cook said.
Cook said the outcome followed months of work between Georgia Power and PSC staff, including reviews, public hearings and input from residents and intervenors.
The approved plan is tied to a stipulated agreement reached earlier this month involving two cases filed with the PSC in February, the Fuel Cost Recovery case and the Storm Cost Recovery case. Those cases addressed recovering fuel costs used to generate electricity and expenses tied to restoring power after storms.
Georgia Power said its rates remain, on average, about 15% below the national average and that it is still on track to provide additional annual savings of about $102 per year for typical residential customers beginning in 2029.
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