Political Rewind: Timeline on Georgia abortion law challenge; Jan. 6 committee stops pause

Caption

Kristy Card, right, protests with her daughter Sierra Worman in front of the Georgia State Capital in Atlanta on Friday, June 24, 2022, against the Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade.

Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray

The panel:

Audrey Haynes, professor of political science, University of Georgia

Emma Hurt, @Emma_Hurt, Reporter, Axios Atlanta

Tamar Hallerman, @TamarHallerman, Senior reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tammy Greer, professor of political science, Clark Atlanta University

The breakdown:

1. Georgia's abortion law will not go into effect until at least mid-July. 

• Georgia has a six-week abortion ban that was signed into law in 2019 by Gov. Brian Kemp.
  • It has been held up in federal court awaiting this decision from the Supreme Court. 
    • A federal judge has asked for lawyers on both sides of a suit challenging the law to submit documents by July 15. 
• Abortion will remain legal in Georgia until a decision is made by the courts.

2. Georgia officials must recognize health disparities for pregnant women. 

• The AJC's Tamar Hallerman reports that the state’s maternal mortality rate has for years remained among the highest in the nation.
• In 2019, a bipartisan panel investigated maternal health across the state, finding: 
  • 60% of maternal deaths were preventable in the state. 
  • Black mothers were three to four times more likely to die the year after childbirth.

3. Supreme Court rules on a case about prayer in school. 

• The court ruled in favor of a Washington State football coach who began praying on the field. 
  • The court ruled 6-3 in this case. 
    • Critics of the case say it further erodes the line between church and state. 

4. January 6th committee schedules a last-minute hearing. 

• The committee investigating the attacks on the capitol last year was planning to take a pause until after the Fourth of July holiday. 
• CNN reports former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' top aide Cassidy Hutchinson will testify.
• You can watch and listen to today's hearing on GPB radio at 1 p.m. and GPB.org. 

Wednesday on Political Rewind: 

The AJC's Greg Bluestein joins our panel.