Florida’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld the state’s abortion law, with changes to the law expected in the coming months and likely to be a focus of the November election.
In Monday’s ruling, the court upheld the state’s current 15-week abortion ban and allowed it to remain in effect. The conservative majority ruled that the right to privacy does not extend to abortion.
Despite legal issues, Florida already had a 15-week limit in place after it was passed in 2022.
The ruling solidifies Florida as one of 20 states where access to abortion is at least severely restricted. According to the Planned Parenthood Act. The group said that although it is legal in some circumstances, accessing abortion in Florida is “extremely difficult and time-consuming.”
Despite the 15-week ban, Florida has become a hotspot for abortions in the South as neighboring states have instituted even stricter regulations. The number of abortions performed in Florida in the first half of 2023 increased by nearly 5,000 from the same period last year, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Virginia is currently the only state in the South that allows abortions beyond the first trimester.
6 week ban pending
The six-week abortion ban, passed last year but suspended by a state Supreme Court case, is scheduled to take effect May 1. The change would put Florida in line with other restrictive states in the Deep South and significantly limit access to abortion. Abortion throughout the region.
Abortion rights advocates were disappointed by the ruling upholding the ban.
“This decision shows how precarious our personal freedoms are in this state,” Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) told The Associated Press. “The situation is so extreme that Floridians will have to travel out of state, perhaps to Virginia, to receive treatment.”
The pending new ban has increased pressure on abortion protection advocates in the state, whose efforts are rallying behind the push for a constitutional amendment ballot measure. In a separate ruling Monday, the state Supreme Court allowed the voting measure to move forward, setting up a pivotal vote in the November election.
Conservatives opposed the constitutional amendment vote, challenging its language and petitions, as the effort has been successful in red states across the country. Kansas and Kentucky are among traditional conservative strongholds that have rejected abortion restrictions or added protections to voting places in recent elections.
Adding abortion protections to Florida’s ballots could boost turnout, as Democrats hope to turn the Sunshine State purple again after years of strong Republican performance. The Biden campaign on Monday described the state as “winnable,” citing the abortion voting bill.
“Make no mistake about it, Florida is not an easy state to win, but it is a winnable state for President Biden, especially given: [former President] “Mr. Trump’s campaign is weak and cash-strapped, and there are serious weaknesses within his coalition,” said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. I wrote it in my notes NBC News first reported.
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