Florida’s top court Upholds six-week abortion ban, but final verdict in the hands of the voters

Florida’s top court has initiated the process for a six-week abortion ban, although it has left the final decision to the voters. The court has already upheld the state’s 15-week ban on abortion, and the latest rulings mean that a six-week ban could soon become effective. However, voters will have their say when they vote in November.

Most U.S. citizens support legalized abortion, but most also favor restrictions. The abortion ballot initiative will also galvanize liberal voters in a state that has seen a swing toward conservatism in recent elections.

Florida’s Republican-appointed justices, by a majority vote of 6-1, ruled that the state’s constitutionally enshrined privacy protection rules do not apply to abortion access. The rulings also upheld the 15-week abortion ban, passed in 2022.

In 2023, Florida’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, consented to a law that banned abortions at six weeks. However, the law had to be put on hold until the 15-week ban had cleared legal hurdles. With Monday’s rulings, the path for the six-week ban is clear, and it will come into effect within 30 days.

The law has been challenged by Planned Parenthood, which runs abortion clinics, and the American Civil Liberties Union, on the grounds that many women are not aware they are pregnant at six weeks.

In another ruling on Monday, the Florida Supreme Court, by a fractured vote of 4-3, contended that a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect access to abortion in the state can be included in the ballot for the November US general elections. The ballot will also include a question asking Floridians to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a statement that reads:

“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.”

Viability, for those who are unaware, is the time period after which the fetus has a chance to survive outside its mother’s womb and is usually 24 weeks. The court has, however, made it clear that the new law will not alter the duty to notify a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.

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