What to know about the Florida abortion case
Jack Birle
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Florida recently passed a law banning abortion after six weeks, but a challenge to the state’s previous 15-week abortion ban could sink the more restrictive law.
A challenge to the prior law has made its way to the state’s Supreme Court and could determine the constitutionality of abortion laws in the state.
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The challenge was taken up by the Florida Supreme Court in January and is being mounted by Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other abortion supporters in the state. The petitioners are arguing abortion is protected under the state constitution’s privacy clause, which was ratified into the document by referendum in 1980.
The state constitution provides that every person “has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion.” Abortion rights activists are arguing the clause encompasses the right to abortion.
“Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as otherwise provided herein. This section shall not be construed to limit the public’s right of access to public records and meetings as provided by law,” the state constitution says.
The federal Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade ruled that abortion was protected due to the perceived right to privacy established in court precedent. The textual right to privacy in the Florida constitution is the basis for the precedent the petitioners argued exists to protect abortion rights.
“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,” Whitney White, staff attorney for the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement in January.
Roe was overturned in June 2022 by the federal high court in the decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The court ruled in its majority opinion that there was no constitutional right to abortion.
“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” the majority opinion said.
Since the federal Supreme Court decision on June 24, 2022, laws have gone into effect in several states restricting abortion. The 15-week ban in Florida went into effect in July. The challenge of the 15-week law has now made its way to the Florida Supreme Court.
The Florida Supreme Court has a conservative majority. Four of the six judges on the court were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and the seventh slot on the court is currently vacant. DeSantis will likely have a fifth appointee when he fills the vacancy.
The chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Carlos Muniz, admitted in a 2004 article that the right to privacy clause in the state’s constitution “was to give the abortion right a textual foundation in our state constitution,” per the Washington Post.
Of the Florida high court, Jamie Grosshans previously had ties to an anti-abortion group, and Charles Canady was opposed to abortion while serving in the House of Representatives prior to being on the court, per the outlet.
Since the court agreed to hear the case, DeSantis signed a law that bans abortions “once the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat,” except in instances of the woman being a victim of rape, incest, or human trafficking, or if the life of the mother is in danger.
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“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a statement after signing the law. “I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”
The plaintiffs in the case were told to file a brief to the court on Monday, but oral arguments have not been assigned by the court.