Florida’s high court has agreed to hear a legal challenge to the state’s abortion law that restricts access to the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
A review of the law has high stakes for Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination, who has indicated he will wait for court challenges to play out before pursuing further abortion curbs sought by conservatives in the state.
The Florida Supreme Court agreed to take up the lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other abortion providers in the state but declined to halt the law from being enforced while it considers the case. The lawsuit argues that the 15-week abortion ban violates the state constitution’s privacy provision.
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“While we are pleased that the court didn’t shut its doors completely, we are dismayed that it has allowed this dangerous ban to remain in effect and to harm real people each and every day until this case is finally decided,” said Whitney White, staff attorney for the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “We hope that the court acts quickly and follows 40 years of precedent and the will of the people to stop this unconstitutional 15-week abortion ban, which has caused chaos and devastation in the state since going into effect in July.”
The state Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case comes five months after the 1st District Court of Appeal threw out a temporary injunction placed on the law by Leon County Circuit Court Judge John Cooper, who contended that it violated the state constitution.
The 15-week abortion ban was passed last year and prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for the life of the mother or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not provide exceptions for rape or incest. Health providers who violate the law could face up to five years in prison.
If the state Supreme Court upholds the 15-week abortion ban, it will pave the way for legislators to further restrict abortion rights in the state.
DeSantis, who signed the legislation into law last year, has appointed three conservative justices to the state Supreme Court in his tenure. His administration has previously indicated that he is waiting for the court challenge to play out before pursuing additional legislation to further restrict access to abortion earlier in pregnancy.
“Our future legislative action necessarily depends on the resolution of these legal issues,” DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw told CNN last year. “We are in continuous contact with the legislature as this litigation proceeds, and we look forward to future policy plans to defend the unborn.”
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Meanwhile, some state lawmakers have expressed interest in taking up additional abortion legislation later this year. Anti-abortion advocates in the state have urged the governor and legislature to consider legislation to restrict abortion from the moment of conception.
