Georgia governor Brian Kemp has signed the state’s controversial “heartbeat” abortion ban, giving the southern state one of the most restrictive laws in the United States as conservatives attempt to trigger a broader legal battle around the constitutionality of abortions.
Mr Kemp had promised on the campaign trail last year to sign the bill, which bans all abortions as soon as a heartbeat is detectable by a physician.
A foetus’s heartbeat is generally detectable around the sixth week of a pregnancy, so the new law marks a dramatic reduction from the 20 week mark currently allowed for women to make the decision about their pregnancy.
