Florida Supreme Court to hear challenge to 15-week abortion ban
Abigail Adcox
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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.
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.
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Lawmakers in Florida are also set to take up additional abortion legislation this year that could further restrict access to the procedure earlier in pregnancy.