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A Fulton County superior court judge again struck down Georgia's 2022 ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy Monday, the AJC reports.

Why it matters: As a result, abortions are legally allowed until about 22 weeks of pregnancy — for now.

What they're saying: "When a fetus growing inside a woman reaches viability, when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then — and only then — may society intervene," Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney wrote in the Monday order.

Catch up fast: McBurney had in 2022 overturned the law, ruling in favor of abortion rights advocates and agreeing that it was passed illegally since Roe v. Wade had been on the books in 2019.

But last year the Georgia Supreme Court overturned that ruling, allowed the law to remain in effect and sent the underlying lawsuit back to Fulton County.

Plaintiffs vowed to continue challenging the ban using different legal arguments.

What we're watching: "We still know there is a strong possibility this will not last very long," the executive director of nonprofit SisterSong, the lead plaintiff, Monica Simpson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday.

"We've seen how this looks before, unfortunately."

Zoom in: The law prohibits abortions once cardiac activity has been detected in an embryo — generally at about six weeks, which is before many people know that they are pregnant.

Since it went into effect, Georgia's monthly abortion totals dropped by roughly half, according to the Society of Family Planning.

Two weeks ago, ProPublica reported that two Georgia women died from abortion-related complications in the months after it took effect.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

National

Georgia abortion ban struck down once again in ongoing legal battle

As a result of the judge's decision, abortions are now legally allowed until about 22 weeks of pregnancy, per the AJC.

Demonstrators protest against Georgia's anti-abortion bill outside of the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., in 2019 — the year the law passed. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Abortion

Health

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Politics

You're not back in the office full-time. And you can only stand to work from home so much. 

Find a happy medium in one of Atlanta's coffee shops.

Axios Atlanta has compiled some of the city's best spots to work from based on solid Wi-Fi, noteworthy food and beverages, and ample table space.

Of note: If you're making an extended visit, be sure to tip accordingly.

Chattahoochee Coffee Company

This local chain has three spots — including on the banks of its namesake.

Be smart: We are partial to the cozy westside location, but Chattahoochee's Riverside spot within the Walton apartment complex in Cumberland stands out for its incomparable views of the waterway. 

Reality check: You have to enter the apartment complex's gate to find the Riverside shop. It's open only to the complex's residents on weekends.

East Pole

East Pole has two Atlanta spots: in Armour Yards and Poncey–Highland. 

Be smart: Both are sleekly designed, but Armour Yards has a remarkable, expansive terraced seating area that's great for team talks. 

This local shop founded during the pandemic has locations in the West End and Old Fourth Ward. A third is coming to Grant Park soon.

Be smart: Order the SCORPiO SPRiTZER — a mix of spritzer, iced sparkling americano and pomegranate — for a pick-me-up.

Even though the name doesn't betray it, this is an Atlanta chain with cozy Virginia-Highland and Candler Park locations that are great for working.   

Be smart: An extensive food and pastry menu will keep you fueled all day long. 

Reality check: The Candler Park location closes on the earlier side, at 2pm on weekdays.

Find a high seat, two-top or a booth and enjoy coffee, breakfast tacos and hanging pothos plants in this former railroad depot in Reynoldstown.

Be smart: On a pretty day, the patio provides some shade and nooks to focus on projects. 

Reality check: Take the Beltline if possible — empty spots don't stay that way for long.

Atlanta's best coffee shops to work from

Relax by the river. But be sure to get your work done.

The view from Chattahoochee Coffee Company's Riverside location. Photo: Emma Hurt/Axios

You&#x27;re not back in the office full-time. And you can only stand to work from home so much. <ul><li>Find a happy medium in one of Atlanta&#x27;s coffee shops.</li></ul>Axios Atlanta has compiled some of the city&#x27;s best spots to work from based on solid Wi-Fi, noteworthy food and beverages, and ample table space.Of note: If you&#x27;re making an extended visit, be sure to tip accordingly.

Things to Do

Olga Golubinskiy and her family had $20 between them when they arrived in the U.S. as refugees from Kazakhstan.

Because money was tight, "I grew up in thrift stores," she told Axios.

"That was my life. We'd never gotten any brand new things, because we couldn't afford it."

What's happening: Golubinskiy, who lives in Oxford, a small town east of Atlanta, has taken her vintage shopping prowess and created a small business, OTimeless Threads.

Zoom in: The shop came to be in part because Golubinskiy could never find plus-sizes in curated vintage stores, so she would avoid them.

"I knew I was a plus-size girl, and I could never find anything," she told Axios.

Instead, she would go thrifting for herself. Soon, her friends, who were also plus-size, would have her shop for them, too.

Informal house parties and clothing swaps grew into OTimeless Threads five years ago.

How it works: Golubinskiy is drawn to textures and art, and sources her merchandise from across the world. A recent trip to West Virginia estate sales and antique malls resulted in a full car of goods, she recalled.

She just returned from Turkey and plans to travel to Cambodia next.

"The number one thing is patience, and don't give up too quick because you don't know what's around the corner," she advises.

What we're watching: Plans for a brick-and-mortar store fizzled at the beginning of the pandemic, she said, but she and her sister — who has her own eco-friendly home goods store — still plan to make it happen in the future.

For now, OTimeless Threads is available online and at regional markets. Golubinskiy will be at the Indie South market in Athens this weekend.

OTimeless Threads: Vintage clothing for all sizes

Golubinskiy created the business in part because she could never find plus-sizes in curated vintage stores

Olga Golubinskiy of OTimeless Threads at the Piedmont Park Holiday Gift Market. Photo: Emma Hurt/Axios

Shopping

Olga Golubinskiy and her family had $20 between them when they arrived in the U.S. as refugees from Kazakhstan.Because money was tight, &quot;I grew up in thrift stores,&quot; she told Axios.<ul><li>&quot;That was my life. We&#x27;d never gotten any brand new things, because we couldn&#x27;t afford it.&quot;</li></ul>

Reproduced from Rutgers; Note: States with top-two or top-four primary systems were also excluded; Map: Axios Visuals

Even though women represent more than half of the Georgia population, they made up just over one-third of total political donations in statewide and state legislative races last year.

Driving the news: Donations from Georgia women made up just 36% of contributions to 2022 campaigns.

That's according to a new report on the "donor gap" from Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics using data from OpenSecrets.

Why it matters: While women are registered to vote at higher rates than men, they remain disproportionately absent from the halls of political power — and from the political donations that fuel those halls.

The big picture: The gap is also present nationwide. Women donors made up between 29-33% of contributions to general election candidates at statewide and state legislative levels between 2019 and 2022, per data from campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.

By the numbers: Roughly 34% of the 236 Georgia state legislators are women, the center reports — on par with the national average of 33%.

Of Georgia's 13 statewide elected officers, only one — Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore, who was appointed to the regulatory body in 2018 — is a woman.

What they're saying: Many women tend to focus their giving on nonprofits until legislation or budgets affect their biggest issues and causes, Melita Easters, the director of Georgia WIN List told Axios. The WIN List recruits female Democratic candidates in the state.

"You have to educate women donors, sometimes about the need to give to political causes," Easters said.

The intrigue: There are about triple the number of female Democratic lawmakers (60) than Republican female lawmakers (21) under the Gold Dome.

The majority of all women lawmakers, however, live in metro Atlanta. Some argue the proximity makes it easier for women legislators to spend time with family during their service, WABE previously reported.

Between the lines: The underrepresentation of female politicians and donors is entwined, Kira Sanbonmatsu, a Rutgers political science professor and the report's lead researcher, told Axios.

It's a cycle that puts women at a disadvantage — female donors on both sides of the aisle disproportionately support women candidates, but the number of women running for office is significantly lower than the number of men.

Incumbents, most of them men, tend to raise more money than challengers, and well-funded candidates are most likely to win on election day.

The last word: There's a "need for some new strategies and new mobilization ideas" to rectify the "donor gap," Sanbonmatsu said.

"Women are voting. They're interested in politics. They're engaged. They maybe haven't been recruited yet in this capacity."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include quotes from Melita Easters. 

The gender gap in Georgia politics extends to campaign donations

Campaign finance

Even though women represent more than half of the Georgia population, they made up just over one-third of total <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="political donations" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/17/women-political-donations-state-demographics-gender" data-vars-content-id="a6c08096-aa60-4ca8-b4fa-5c14f80d899b" data-vars-headline="The gender gap in Georgia politics extends to campaign donations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/17/women-political-donations-state-demographics-gender" target="_self">political donations</a> in statewide and state legislative races last year.Driving the news: Donations from Georgia women made up just 36% of contributions to 2022 campaigns.

Among Rosalynn Carter's countless policy and advocacy legacies, she also leaves behind the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, founded in her hometown of Plains. 

Why it matters: The network of more than 3,000 pollinator-friendly public and private gardens throughout Georgia and the country was inspired by her concern about the threats to monarch butterfly habitat.

Catch up fast: In 2013, she asked a Plains neighbor for advice about planting native species to make her own yard an ideal butterfly habitat.

When others in town learned what she was doing, they too wanted to provide pollinator habitat in their gardens, the organization writes.

"Eventually, a 'trail' started of butterfly gardens, one house at a time, one church at a time, one library, one state, and so on."

How to join: Anyone can register their garden for the Butterfly Trail here. 

Rosalynn Carter's Butterfly Trail legacy

It's a network of more than 3,000 pollinator-friendly public and private gardens throughout Georgia and the country.

Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Jimmy Carter

Among <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Rosalynn Carter" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/19/rosalynn-carter-obituary" data-vars-content-id="f143f65d-a3c3-4b74-ac4f-ecaf3e9f2403" data-vars-headline="Rosalynn Carter&#x27;s Butterfly Trail legacy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/19/rosalynn-carter-obituary" target="_self">Rosalynn Carter</a>&#x27;s countless policy and advocacy legacies, she also leaves behind the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail" data-vars-click-url="https://rosalynncarterbutterflytrail.org/" data-vars-content-id="f143f65d-a3c3-4b74-ac4f-ecaf3e9f2403" data-vars-headline="Rosalynn Carter&#x27;s Butterfly Trail legacy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://rosalynncarterbutterflytrail.org/" target="_blank">Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail</a>, founded in her hometown of Plains. Why it matters: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="network" data-vars-click-url="https://rosalynncarterbutterflytrail.org/plains-wildflower-project/" data-vars-content-id="f143f65d-a3c3-4b74-ac4f-ecaf3e9f2403" data-vars-headline="Rosalynn Carter&#x27;s Butterfly Trail legacy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://rosalynncarterbutterflytrail.org/plains-wildflower-project/" target="_blank">network</a> of more than 3,000 pollinator-friendly public and private gardens throughout Georgia and the country was inspired by her concern about the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="threats" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2022/07/26/help-endangered-monarch-butterfly" data-vars-content-id="f143f65d-a3c3-4b74-ac4f-ecaf3e9f2403" data-vars-headline="Rosalynn Carter&#x27;s Butterfly Trail legacy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2022/07/26/help-endangered-monarch-butterfly" target="_self">threats</a> to monarch butterfly habitat.

Culture

News

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A graphic showing a series of charts tracking the vote margin shift in battleground states for the 2024 presidential election. Each state includes a chart comparing vote margins from previous elections and indicates the current leader and the percentage of the expected vote counted.

Emma Hurt

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Jimmy Carter, nation's longest-living former president, dies at 100

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