FL’s 15-Week Abortion Ban Reinstated After State Appeals Ruling

FLORIDA — Florida’s legal battle over the state’s new 15-week abortion ban continues as the nation grapples with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the country’s landmark abortion decision.

Though the Sunshine State's new abortion ban was temporarily blocked by a judge last week, the law was reinstated Tuesday after an appeal from the state attorney general, according to reports.

The Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality bill was passed by the state legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April. The law, which was scheduled to take effect July 1, bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and threatens to put doctors in jail for providing them after the first trimester. It also doesn't grant exemptions for the victims of rape, incest or human trafficking.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the law firm Jenner & Block filed a lawsuit against the state to block the strict abortion law on behalf of several medical facilities that offer abortion services.

On June 30, Circuit Judge John C. Cooper halted the ban from going into effect. He said the law is likely unconstitutional and goes against a provision in the state constitution that prevents the government from interfering in people’s personal lives and provides people with a right to privacy, Politico reported.

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The state filed an appeal Tuesday, which, under state law, automatically suspended the judge’s ruling, according to ABC News.

The plaintiffs plan to file a motion seeking to reinstate the judge’s decision blocking the ban, according to a news release from the Center for Reproductive Rights.

“Florida’s 15-week ban has already blocked access to essential abortion care since last Friday, and it will continue to harm pregnant people until it is blocked,” the agency said. “The trial court correctly recognized this law as a blatant violation of Floridians’ state constitutional rights, and we’re determined to get it blocked for good. The majority of people support the right to get essential abortion care in Florida — a right many have relied on for decades to secure the life they wanted for themselves and their families.”

DeSantis has also vowed to continue fighting in court to uphold the ban.

“The Florida Supreme Court previously misinterpreted Florida’s right to privacy as including a right to an abortion, and we reject this interpretation,” a spokesperson for the governor told the Miami Herald.

At the national level, in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, President Joe Biden said that Friday he’ll sign an executive order protecting access to reproductive health care, according to a White House news release.

The order will safeguard access to abortion, contraception and other reproductive health care services, protect the privacy of patients and their personal medical information, and promote the security of patients, providers, and clinics.

“(The Supreme Court’s) decision expressly took away a right from the American people that it had recognized for nearly 50 years — a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health care decisions, free from government interference,” the White House said. “Fundamental rights — to privacy, autonomy, freedom, and equality — have been denied to millions of women across the country, with grave implications for their health, lives, and wellbeing. This ruling will disproportionately affect women of color, low-income women and rural women.”