The Florida Supreme Court on Monday upheld the state's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks, clearing the way for a more restrictive ban after six weeks of pregnancy.
In a 6-1 ruling, the court upheld the 15-week ban signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, setting the table for the six-week ban passed last year to take effect within 30 days, drastically reducing abortion access in Florida.
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15-WEEK BAN
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Florida's Republican-controlled legislature passed the law banning abortions in the state after 15 weeks in 2022, and it was signed into law by DeSantis in April of that year.
The law bans abortions after 15 weeks and six days of pregnancy, with exceptions allowed to save the pregnant woman's life or prevent physical harm, as well as in cases where the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
The 15-week limit is outlined under HB 5, or the Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality bill. The bill also redefines the term “gestation” to measure gestational age as the time period starting on the first day of the pregnant woman’s last menstrual period.
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The law went into effect on July 1, 2022.
A violator of the third-degree felony could face up to five years in prison, and physicians and other medical professionals who violate the law could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation.
Before the law, Florida had allowed abortions up to 24 weeks.
LEGAL CHALLENGE
Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union and others who challenged the law argued that the Florida Constitution’s unique privacy clause for more than 40 years has explicitly protected a right to abortion in the state and should remain in force.
Lawyers for the state, however, said when the privacy clause was adopted by voter referendum in 1980, few people understood it would cover abortion. They told the justices the clause was mainly meant to cover “informational privacy” such as personal records and not abortion.
The Florida justices agreed, saying in Monday's ruling that when voters approved the privacy clause, they didn't know it would affect abortion laws.
“The debate — as framed to the public — overwhelmingly associated the Privacy Clause’s terms with concerns related to government surveillance and disclosure of private information to the public'” the court wrote. “Prolife and prochoice groups did not join in the fray. These groups are not politically bashful— not now, and not in 1980.”
The 15-week ban had been enforced while it was challenged in court.
6-WEEK BAN
After the U.S. Supreme Court in June of 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, many Republican-controlled states adopted bans or restrictions on abortions.
The Florida legislature joined in, passing a six-week ban last year under SB 300, the "Pregnancy and Parenting Support Bill."
The six-week ban was written so that it would not take effect until a month after the 2022 law was upheld.
The law would include an exception to save the life of the woman and exceptions in the case of pregnancy caused by rape or incest until 15 weeks of pregnancy. In those cases, the woman would have to provide documentation such as a medical record, restraining order or police report.
Republican House Speaker Paul Renner said the six-week ban is a good fit for Florida and noted the law includes exceptions for cases involving rape, incest and fetal abnormalities, as well as to save a mother's life.
"It is a compromise that addresses where I think many Floridians are.”
But opponents said that by the time a woman finds out she's pregnant, it's either too late to get an abortion or there's too little time to arrange one, especially for victims of rape and incest.
ABORTION AMENDMENT
In a separate 4-3 ruling Monday, the Florida Supreme Court allowed a ballot measure to go to voters that would enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution.
The proposed amendment says “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” It provides for one exception that is already in the state constitution: Parents must be notified before their minor children can get an abortion.
The majority of justices rejected Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's argument that the proposed amendment is deceptive and that voters won’t realize just how far it will expand access to the procedure.
They also rejected an argument that the measure violates the single-subject clause because it would both allow abortions before the fetus is viable and for the mother’s health. The opponents had argued that some voters might approve of allowing abortions to protect the mother’s health, but would reject allowing unrestricted abortions before viability. They claimed those are separate subjects.
The process to get an amendment on the ballot in Florida requires nearly a million signatures from registered voters and, in order to pass, it needs to get 60% of the votes. It was reported earlier this year that enough signatures had been collected.
Amendment 4 will now be on the ballot in the November election. If approved, it will go into in 2025 and will override the six-week ban.
