The Florida Supreme Court on Monday upheld the state’s 15-week limit on abortions, while issuing two important decisions: amendment It would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, which will appear on the ballot in November.
The court’s decision to keep the 15-week limit in place also paves the way for the state’s six-week limit on abortions to take effect. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a 15-week limit in 2022, but the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliates almost immediately challenged it in court. DeSantis then signed a six-week heartbeat bill in April 2023 that included exceptions for rape, incest, and maternal life. The state Supreme Court allowed the six-week limit to remain in place pending a ruling on the 15-week limit.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images).
In Monday’s ruling, the judges said: I have written The majority opinion said Planned Parenthood, the plaintiff in the case, “cannot overcome the presumption of constitutionality and cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the 15-week ban is unconstitutional.”
The judges also wrote:[c]Consistent with the long-standing principle of judicial deference to legislative enactment, we conclude that there is no basis to override the 15-week limitation under the Privacy Clause.
In their decision, the judges said: “The six-week ban will take effect within 30 days.”
But in a second ruling, the Florida Supreme Court has allowed the abortion ballot measure to move forward, giving Florida voters the chance to vote on the issue in November.
This amendment is supported by Floridians Defending Freedom. union A group of left-wing organizations such as the Planned Parenthood program and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU), the state states that “to protect a patient’s health before the period of viability (approximately 24 weeks) or at the discretion of the patient’s health care provider.” prohibits restrictions on abortion in cases of “necessity”. provider. ”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody had asked the state’s high court to block the amendment from appearing on the November ballot. One of Moody’s main concerns, she said, is the bill’s use of the term “feasibility,” which has multiple meanings and could confuse voters. she states.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (AP Photo/Patrick Semanski, File)
“We authorize the amendment to appear on the ballot,” the justices wrote in their report. opinion.
“It is clearly stated in language that clearly and unambiguously reflects the text of the amendment that the primary goal and primary purpose of the amendment is to limit government intervention in abortion.” is writing. “And the breadth of this amendment is clear from the wording of the summary. To deny this requires an escape from reality.”
The state high court noted that the decision “takes no position on the scope of legislative discretion that would remain if the amendment were to become law.”
The judges wrote:
The question for us to consider here is whether there is no ambiguity in the text of the proposed constitution itself, or whether there is uncertainty as to the potential legal effects of the amendment if it is passed. The question is whether the outline of the ballot paper misleads voters about the language of the new constitution. It is requested that this be adopted in the amendment itself. In other words, it asks whether the voting summary gives voters a false impression of what the actual text of the amendment contains.
The outline of the ballot essentially follows the text of the amendment. It is no more and no less than what the operative language of the amendment itself says. Given that the text of the amendment is recited almost verbatim, the Ballot Summary cannot be said to mislead voters as to the actual text of the amendment.
If Florida voters pass the measure with at least 60 percent support in November, the amendment would rescind the six-week limit, which would essentially only be reversed by another ballot measure or a difficult legal battle. It would create a permanent right to abortion within states that allow for abortion.
Abortion activists supporting the bill exceeded the number of signatures needed in January, state officials said, and the measure will be placed on the general election ballot as a “Fourth Amendment.” It is planned to be published as.
Protesters unite at a Planned Parenthood rally on August 29, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Abortion advocacy groups praised the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow the ballot measure to move forward, but criticized the court’s decision to keep the 15-week limit in place.
Jessica Mackler, president of Emily’s List, a group that supports pro-abortion Democratic women candidates Said:
The stakes for protecting reproductive freedom in Florida have never been higher. With a near-total abortion ban set to go into effect within 30 days, the Florida Supreme Court’s decision will take essential health care out of reach for millions of people. But Floridians have the same opportunity to fight back against this Republican law that strips them of their bodily autonomy, just as voters have with every other abortion ballot initiative across the country.
Pro-life groups conversely criticized the abortion ballot measure while praising the state’s decision to uphold the 15-week limit.
“Today’s victory for a fetus that has a heartbeat and can feel pain is consistent with the views of the majority of Floridians who want to protect babies and serve mothers and families,” Susan B. Anthony Pro. said Katie Daniel, director of national policy at Life America. Said In a statement:
As Florida faces its biggest voting battle ever, Gov. Ron DeSantis must be on the front line to protect Florida from mass abortion attempts to disenfranchise unborn children, parents, women and girls. Must be. Governor DeSantis signed legislation to protect infants who are in pain and have a heartbeat, and now he must be at the forefront of advocating for those protections.
Andrew Charbel, Executive Director of Florida Voices for Unborn Said His organization said it was “deeply disappointed in the Florida Supreme Court” for allowing the ballot measure to move forward, but called the possibility of a six-week limit “a glimmer of hope in a dark day for Florida’s unborn children.” “It’s a sign,” he said.
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign deserves special attention released A memo shortly after the decision was announced said the state believes it can win in Florida thanks to a continued strategy to energize Democrats on the abortion issue.
“Abortion rights will be front and center in Florida during this election cycle,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez wrote in a memo, first reported to NBC News. shared.
President Joe Biden speaks about the importance of electing Democrats who want to restore abortion rights in Washington, D.C., October 18, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Florida is one of more than a dozen states where pro-abortion activists are active. work Codifying the right to kill the unborn child.
The case is: Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida v. State of FloridaNo.SC2022-1050 and No.SC2022-1127 Florida Supreme Court and Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General on Limiting Government Intervention in Abortion; No SC2023-1392 in the Florida Supreme Court.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her at @thekat_Hamilton.
