The Superior Florida Court has open the road to bring into force a ban on abortion at six weeks — before many women even realize they are pregnant. At the same time the judges on Monday approved A measure will be on the ballot this November that, if approved by 60 percent of voters, would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.
The court, stacked with ultraconservative appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), waited until the last possible moment to rule on the ballot measure — under state law, he had to reach a decision by April 1 — and chose to combine it with a long-awaited challenge ruling of the state's 15-week abortion ban.
Monday's decision will allow a much more restrictive six-week ban, which was passed by the Republican supermajority in Tallahassee and signed into law by DeSandis a year ago, to go into effect in 30 days.
Before the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Florida had one of the highest abortion rates in the country. As surrounding states have banned or severely restricted the practice, Florida has become the only state in the region to offer care after 12 weeks, making it a critical access point for millions of people across the South.
Despite a 15-week ban in 2022, the number of abortions performed in the state Increased by 15 percent in the first six months of last year, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute. Researchers attributed most of that increase — 65 percent — to patients traveling to Florida from out of state.
Dramatically reducing access to abortion in the nation's third most populous state — even temporarily — will have a huge impact, both within and beyond its borders.
With the decision, the closest states to abortion access beyond 12 weeks are North Carolina and Virginia. “North Carolina and Virginia combined can see less than 65,000 patients, so there is nowhere accessible for these people to go when they are denied access to care. Tens of thousands of people will not be able to get care,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, which supports the ballot measure. Rolling rock last year. “The next closest access states are Illinois and New York. We sit on the precipice of the largest public health crisis created by the coup Roe v. Wade.”
In upholding the 15-week ban, the justices concluded that the ban did not violate Florida's strong right to privacy. Every Floridian, according to the state constitution, “has the right to be alone and free from government intrusion into the privacy of the individual.”
The measure the court ruled could appear on the ballot in November would protect access to abortion up to the point of viability, around 24 weeks gestation. A poll released in December showed that 62 percent of Floridians would support the proposed constitutional amendment — enough to meet the unusually high 60 percent threshold for amending the constitution.
The ballot initiative decision follows recent efforts by Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, as well as powerful anti-abortion groups Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Liberty Counsel, to convince the court that allowing voters to weigh the measure could violate the constitutional rights of an “unborn person.” The justices, apparently unmoved by the personhood argument, voted unanimously to allow the measure to go before voters in November.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/florida-supreme-court-six-week-abortion-ban-1234995923/