Georgia’s Supreme Court has reinstated a ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, while it hears the state’s appeal of a lower court ruling that blocked the law’s implementation, ruling it unconstitutional.

With the decision of the Supreme Court the ban will come into force from today Monday at 17.00 (local time). The law was challenged by a collective of women of color based in Atlanta, the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.

“Today, the Georgia Supreme Court sided with anti-abortion extremists. With every minute that passes, with this damaging ban on abortion after the sixth week in effect, women in Georgia are suffering.” said the organization’s executive director, Monica Simpson, in a statement.

On Sept. 30, Fulton County Circuit Judge Robert McBurney ruled that the law violated the right to privacy and liberty guaranteed by the State Constitution. In his rationale, he stated that women “are not an object of common, collective property, the disposition of which is decided by the majority” and ruled that the State can prohibit abortion only after the fetus has become viable.

The law prohibits almost all abortions after a “heartbeat” is detected, which usually occurs around the 6th week of pregnancy, when many women do not yet know they are pregnant. The law was passed in 2019 but was not implemented until after the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women’s right to abortion nationwide.

Today’s Supreme Court ruling is temporary, but will continue to apply until the justices hear arguments from both sides and make a final ruling.