United States – On Monday, and in two separate rulings, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of banning abortion in accordance with the relevant law, at the same time it also allowed the placing of constitutional amendment on the November ballot that could repeal the ban, as reported by HealthDay.
Court Rulings
The court ruled 6-1 in favor of the constitutionality of a 15-year-old ban implemented in the summer of 2022 that already is in effect. Furthermore, the ruling triggers the most restrictive ban passed last spring that does not allow an abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy. Florida’s ban of six-week curb was signed a month after the legal establishment of the 15-week ban.
The six-week ban — which is unlikely to be different from incest, rape, fatal fetal birth defects and medical emergencies — may de facto prohibit access to abortion in the South, according to the Washington Post.
Constitutional Amendment
Concurrently, in a 4-3 vote, the court supported a proposed amendment to its constitution that would protect the constitutionality of abortion rights in that state. This means that Floridians will make the decision whether women are able to undergo an abortion in the future or not. The Floridians for Freedom group gathered more than a million and a half signatures in less than nine months and placed their proposition in the November ballot, according to the Post news outlet.
To add an amendment to the constitution, a supermajority of 60 percent of voters would have to support it.
Political Responses
“Today’s decisions demonstrate precisely what is at risk at the voting booth,” Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried told the Post. “Voters in Florida are aware that supporting Amendment 4 in November is our last line of defense.”
Meanwhile, abortion opponents in Florida celebrated the ruling.
“I am ecstatic, having spent a lifetime of work leading up to this moment,” John Stemberger, president of Liberty Counsel Action, a conservative advocacy group, told the Post.
Abortion pros point out, however, that the concurring decisions indicated the true nature of those who will face the ballot, as reported by HealthDay.
“This is about to create an unprecedented health care crisis in the state of Florida,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director of Floridians Protecting Freedom.