Florida Supreme Court upholds DeSantis’ 15-week abortion ban, allows voters to take up reproductive rights ballot measure
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday upheld a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis which outlawed most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, setting the stage for a 6-week ban on the procedure to also take effect.
The victory for DeSantis and pro-life Floridians could be short lived, however, as the conservative-majority court also ruled in a separate case that voters can decide in November whether or not to approve a ballot measure guaranteeing the right to abortion in the Sunshine State.
The 15-week ban signed by DeSantis in 2022 does not allow for exemptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking. However, it does permit the procedure when an abortion is deemed necessary to save the mother’s life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
Florida’s GOP-controlled legislature passed a 6-week abortion ban in 2023 intended to replace the 15-week ban 30 days after the high court’s ruling.
The so-called “heartbeat” bill bans the procedure after the development of a fetal heartbeat but it includes exceptions in cases of rape or incest before 15 weeks of pregnancy.
In 2021, 93% of abortions occurred within the first 13 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy, according to the CDC.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the 15-week ban on the grounds of Florida’s constitutionally protected rights to privacy, with lawyers arguing that the protections included the right to an abortion.
The state argued that the privacy clause only pertained to “informational privacy,” and the court agreed.
“We appreciate the court revisiting its precedent on Florida’s right to privacy and returning the meaning of that amendment to the voters’ original intention,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody wrote on X, before noting that legal battle concerning the interpretation of the 1980 referendum on privacy as it relates to abortion portends possible issues with the reproductive rights ballot initiative – and a separate initiative that seeks to legalize marijuana – approved by the court.
“That decision outlines the difficulties and divisiveness of allowing vague and misleading initiatives on the ballot,” she added. “We have argued from the beginning that these two new constitutional initiatives will mislead voters.”
“We maintain that it will be an uphill battle to educate them. However, we respect the court’s decisions.”
Abortions in Florida have surged since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, with women in states that have implemented abortion bans flocking to the Sunshine State to get the procedure.
=More than 7,700 women from other states received abortions in Florida in 2023, according to a survey from the Society of Family Planning.
