Florida Supreme Court allows state ban on abortions after 6-weeks

Florida state’s bid for a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy has been given a green light by the state’s Supreme Court and has also given voters the opportunity to remove restrictions in November this year.

The court was reshuffled by Governor Ron DeSantis from the Republican Party, who came out in favour of the state’s decision to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with an overwhelming 6-1 ratio, which means that a ban on six weeks could soon be applicable.

The court used a different 4-3 ruling, allowed the court to offer ballots to voters so as to let them put abortion rights in Florida’s constitution.

This decision by the court has the potential to impact the presidential elections and congressional contests significantly with the votes of abortion rights supporters playing a huge role.

Historically, states with abortion-related ballots have seen voters favour abortion rights supporters.

The 15-week ban was enforced after DeSantis signed off on it in 2022, even while it was being challenged in court. Even though the 6-week ban was approved by the legislature in 2023, certain stipulations were put in place which meant that it could only take effect one month after the 2022 law was upheld.

The constitution of Florida is known to have an intriguing privacy clause, which has been in effect for over forty years, protecting the right to abortion in the state.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and organisations with an interest in this conversation have repeatedly suggested that the privacy clause should remain in effect and have used this as one of the base arguments for challenging the new law.

The state’s perspective on this is quite different though, as its lawyers argued that when the privacy clause was introduced in 1980, most did not grasp the concept that its remit would extend to abortions as well. They continue to believe that the clause should apply to personal records, thus maintaining informational privacy instead of focusing on abortions.

Justices in Florida have sided with this argument, stating that the privacy law was not expected to have an effect on abortion laws upon introduction.

The court released a written statement on this matter, in which it said, “The debate — as framed to the public — overwhelmingly associated the Privacy Clause’s terms with concerns related to government surveillance and disclosure of private information to the public.”

Adding that, “Prolife and prochoice groups did not join in the fray. These groups are not politically bashful— not now, and not in 1980.”

Questions have been raised about the fact that since taking office in 2019, DeSantis has overseen the appointment of five out of the seven sitting justices.

Paul Renner, the Republican Speaker of the House, highlighted the fact that the law allows for exceptions to be made in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and where it is the only way to save a mother’s life.

Abortions Rights supporters such as Democratic Representatives Anna Eskamani, were not happy with the ruling. She stated the following on the matter, “This decision demonstrates how precarious our personal freedoms are in this state.

The Florida Access Network is planning on shifting its modus operandi from locating places where women can receive abortion care in Florida to covering expenses for pregnant women to receive said care out of state.

Stephanie Loraine Pineiro, who is the Executive Director of the advocacy group, stated the following, “People who can’t afford to travel, can’t afford to lose their jobs because they have to travel for abortion care, these are the people who are going to be forced to remain pregnant. The collateral damage is all of us.”

A snippet from the new abortion law says that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

The only exception that has been agreed upon is that the parents of a minor child getting an abortion must be informed before the procedure is undertaken.

The Society of Family Planning conducted a survey and came to the realization that Florida has witnessed the second-largest increase in the number of abortions provided since the Dobbs verdict.

According to the data collected, 7,700 from other states came to Florida to receive abortion care in 2023 alone. Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as 11 other states in the vicinity, have placed bans on abortions, regardless of which stage in the pregnancy the woman finds herself in, with no exception for special cases.

Georgia and South Carolina have banned abortions once the foetus displays cardiac activity, which usually occurs at the 6-week mark in the pregnancy.

These factors made Florida a beacon of hope for many women who were seeking abortion care, but the situation in Florida won’t be conducive for them if things continue to progress in the same manner.