Nearly a year-and-a-half after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Florida Supreme Court must decide whether to uphold a signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
If it stands, a signed by DeSantis this year would take effect 30 days later.
Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, and Romy Ellenbogen, Tallahassee correspondent at the Tampa Bay Times, spoke about the ban Friday with Tom Hudson on The Florida Roundup.
Ellenbogen said its unclear when the state Supreme Court will make its decision.
鈥淯nlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court doesn鈥檛 have a window where they have to release all their opinions. So the decision could come down next week, it could come down next year,鈥� she said.
Goodhue said the 15-week ban has been dangerous for Floridians, and these decisions should be left between patients and their doctors.
鈥淚 mean, we鈥檝e seen women who have had life-threatening conditions who have not been able to end their pregnancies. Doctors have not been able to sign off on that because of these confusing laws and this completely arbitrary number of 15 weeks,鈥� Goodhue said.
Despite that, Ellenbogen said the legal arguments placed in front of the state Supreme Court don鈥檛 revolve around health.
鈥淚 think the arguments have really not been as much about health care as it has been about the constitutional right to privacy and whether that does protect someone鈥檚 right to access an abortion, and there are some references to, right, what happens if you aren鈥檛 able to access abortion and how sometimes carrying out a pregnancy can be quite dangerous,鈥� Ellenbogen said.
Goodhue said Florida has a history of privacy rights protecting access to abortion care, pointing to the state constitution and past legal decisions. The state, however, argues the original language in the constitution is about personal data and information, not what they call 鈥渄ecisional autonomy.鈥� Goodhue said this argument is disingenuous.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that there was a huge effort just to slowly think about that one issue, and that the constitution should be interpreted to protect people鈥檚 freedoms," Goodhue said. "And in fact I think Floridians value that, and they value that they have a stronger right to privacy in their state.鈥�
Both Goodhue and Ellenbogen also noted the conservative majority on the Florida Supreme Court. Justice , who used to be a U.S. representative, introduced a House bill called the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 1995. His wife, from Lakeland, is a co-sponsor of the six-week abortion legislation. Justice Jamie Grosshans, who was appointed by DeSantis, also has ties to
鈥淪o it doesn鈥檛 necessarily matter that that鈥檚 what the constitution says, we are seeing increasingly conservative justices overturning those rights,鈥� Goodhue said.
鈥淯nlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court doesn鈥檛 have a window where they have to release all their opinions. So the decision could come down next week, it could come down next year.鈥�Romy Ellenbogen, Tallahassee correspondent at the Tampa Bay Times
Meanwhile, abortion rights groups are trying to place a Attorney General Ashley Moody, however, of the proposed amendment earlier this month. She pointed to the term 鈥渧iability鈥� used in the referendum, which she said is too vague.
READ MORE: Florida's Republican attorney general will oppose putting abortion rights amendment on 2024 ballot
鈥淎ttorney General Ashley Moody did write an opinion piece where she said her argument was going to be about, you could define viability as that first point at about 12 weeks where you know the pregnancy is likely to continue without a high risk of miscarriage, and then that second point of viability in that 21- to 24-week window where a fetus could survive outside of the uterus without major medical intervention,鈥� Ellenbogen said.
Goodhue said the term is defined in Florida statute and in U.S Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court cases.
鈥淰iability means that a fetus is viable up until the time that it can survive outside the womb through standard medical measures,鈥� she said.
Goodhue also said because the term has been historically well established, its definition doesn鈥檛 need to be included in the referendum.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just disingenuous to say that Floridians wouldn鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e voting for, and what Floridians will be voting for is to reject government interference in abortion, and that鈥檚 what this ballot initiative does, it says that law shall not prohibit or penalize or delay abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient鈥檚 health as determined by the patient鈥檚 health care provider,鈥� she said.
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