The Latest: Georgia’s GOP Gov. Kemp signs early abortion ban

ATLANTA — The Latest on the signing of an early abortion ban by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (all times local):

10:20 a.m.

Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has signed legislation banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That can be as early as six weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant.

The signing Tuesday morning caps weeks of protests at the state capitol and marks the beginning of a possibly costly legal battle.

ACLU of Georgia legal director Sean Young said the new law is unconstitutional and the ACLU would challenge it in court.

Anti-abortion activists and lawmakers across the country have been energized by the new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Several GOP-controlled states are pushing abortion bans in an attack on the high court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Similar bans have been signed into law in Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio, and are being considered elsewhere.

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1 a.m.

Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is set to sign legislation banning abortions at around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant.

Kemp’s office says the signing at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the state capitol will be attended by lawmakers including state Rep. Ed Setzler, the bill’s author.

It caps weeks of protest and marks the beginning of what could be a costly legal battle.

ACLU of Georgia legal director Sean Young says the law is unconstitutional and that the ACLU will challenge it in court.

Several GOP-controlled states are pushing abortion bans in an attack on the high court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

Similar abortion bans have recently been signed into law in Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio, and are being considered in other states.

The Associated Press