Florida’s top court agreed to the implementation of the state’s six-week abortion ban, but they gave voters the chance to have their say on the issue.
The decision of the court was a win for abortion rights activists but it was significantly modified by another decision in which Florida’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s 15-week abortion ban.
This shows that the top court finished the way for the implementation of a separate six-week abortion ban, which was passed in 2023, but kept on hold the judgement on the case of the 15-week ban. The six-week ban will come into effect in 30 days.
The court has decided to let Florida’s citizens decide in November if they should seal abortion rights in the state charter.
On Monday Florida’s Republican-appointed justices agreed by 6-1 that the constitution of the state especially its privacy protections did not apply to access to abortion.
The court’s ruling upheld the existing 15-week abortion ban which was passed in Florida in 2022. Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis had almost a year ago signed into law a six-week abortion ban. However, it was decided that the bill would be placed on hold till the legal challenges of the 15-week ban were cleared.
After Monday’s ruling, Florida can place into effect the six-week ban within 30 days. Lawsuits challenging the ban have been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, which has its own clinics that provide abortions.
In a separate ruling on Monday, the Florida Supreme Court, also decided by 4-3 that a proposed constitutional amendment which will protect access to abortion in the state can be part of the ballots in November when the country’s general election is held.
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