Fla.’s rules on abortion will soon be different.
A ban on abortions after 15 weeks was confirmed by the Florida Supreme Court on Monday by a vote of 6 to 1. The law was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in April 2022. As of May 1, there will be no more abortions after six weeks of pregnancy because of the decision.
“Based on our analysis finding no clear right to abortion embodied within the Privacy Clause, Planned Parenthood cannot overcome the presumption of constitutionality and is unable to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that the 15-week ban is unconstitutional,” the court’s opinion says.
Per NBC News, DeSantis signed the six-week ban in April 2023, but the state Supreme Court said it would stay in place until the court decided on the first case to the 15-week ban.
“I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act,” DeSantis said at the time in a news release. “This law expands pro-life protections and gives more resources to young mothers and families.”
As of Monday, the six-week ban will go into action in 30 days. However, Florida voters will have the chance to choose an amendment to protect abortion rights on the state’s November ballot.
After the court decisions on Monday, Kara Gross, Legislative Director and Senior Policy Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said in a statement that it would have “catastrophic implications for the people of Florida.”
“Restricting access to abortion will hurt people the most who already have to deal with racism and discrimination in this country.” “Despite today’s decision, we will not give up fighting for Floridians to have access to basic reproductive health care,” she said in the statement.
She told the people of Florida that their government has “consistently ignored the will of the people” and asked them to vote in November.
