ATLANTA — A loosely organized group of demonstrators took to the steps of Georgia's state capitol on Saturday afternoon, hoping to have their voices heard in opposition to the state's new "heartbeat" abortion law.
The group of more than 2,000 people gathered on the steps of the State Capitol shortly before noon on Saturday, braving the sweltering temperatures, many of them with signs demanding their voices be heard, not only in Georgia, but in other states that have recently either passed abortion laws, but in others considering such legislation.
In Mississippi, a federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat has been detected.
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on Friday issued an order to stop the law from taking effect July 1.
He heard arguments Tuesday from attorneys for the state's only abortion clinic, who said the law would effectively eliminate all abortions in the state because cardiac activity is often first detectable around six weeks, when many women may not know they are pregnant.
Georgia's law, signed earlier this month, is set to take effect on January 1, 2020, and will similarly outlaw abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
Abortion opponents have been emboldened by new conservative Supreme Court justices and are looking for ways to challenge the high court's 1973 ruling which legalized abortion nationwide.
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