The Florida Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the state to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, while also giving voters a chance to remove restrictions in November.
The court that was reshaped by former presidential candidate and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ruled 6-1 to uphold the state's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, meaning a ban on six weeks could soon take effect. But under a separate 4-3 ruling, the court allowed a ballot measure to go to voters that would enshrine abortion rights in Florida's constitution.
The 15-week ban, signed by DeSantis in 2022, has been enforced while it was challenged in court. The six-week ban, passed by the Legislature last year, was written so that it would not take effect until a month after the 2022 law was upheld.
The proposed constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot says “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” It provides for one exception that is already in the state constitution: Parents must be notified before their minor children can get an abortion.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, most Republican-controlled states have adopted bans or restrictions on abortions. Every ban has faced a court challenge.
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Reactions to the Florida Supreme Court’s rulings ranged in opinion, from anti-abortion activists to pro-choice groups, from around the state. Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement on Tuesday morning through the Biden-Harris presidential campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris
“This decision means that millions of women in Florida and across the Southeast will likely live in an even more cruel reality where they face a choice between putting their lives at risk or traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to get care. Doctors will continue to be threatened with criminal prosecution for doing their jobs, and women may be barred from getting the health care they need in the event of rape or incest."
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando
“This decision demonstrates how precarious our personal freedoms are in this state. It’s so extreme you’re going to see Floridians having to go out of state, probably to Virginia, to get care.”
Florida Access Network Executive Director Stephanie Loraine Pineiro
“People who can’t afford to travel, can’t afford to lose their jobs because they have to travel for abortion care, these are the people who are going to be forced to remain pregnant,” she said. “The collateral damage is all of us.”
Lauren Brenzel, director for the Yes on 4 campaign
“When voters head to the polls this November, they will send a message to Florida politicians. Decisions about whether or not to have an abortion should be between a patient and a provider, not between a constituent and their politician.”
Florida State Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce
“It puts a woman’s health at extreme risk, all in pursuit of a radical dehumanizing agenda that allows babies to be aborted on demand and at any time. We must shine a light on the barbarism of this effort and its extreme conflict with a culture in Florida that values life.”
Andrea Mercado, Executive Director, Florida Rising
“This year, Black women and Latinas, who often bear the brunt of attacks on our freedoms, will lead the way in the fight to end government interference in abortion. Across the country, abortion bans devastate our communities by denying us bodily autonomy and access to quality healthcare. Florida politicians are trying to ban abortion before many people even realize they are pregnant, without exceptions for rape and incest. We are ready to fight and win Amendment 4 this November.”
Lucia Báez-Geller, Democratic candidate for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, challenging U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Miami.
“I welcome the decision of the Florida Supreme Court to reject the efforts of anti-choice extremists to deny Floridians the ability to vote on a woman’s fundamental right to our own bodily autonomy. The same anti-choice extremists who attempted to block this measure from being on the ballot will go to unprecedented lengths to try to defeat this ballot initiative and re-elect anti-choice politicians like María Elvira Salazar. But make no mistake – women will not be silenced, and we will not be denied our fundamental rights. We will show up at the polls in November and ensure that this amendment passes with resounding support."
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami Gardens
“Now, with abortion up for consideration on the Florida ballot, we have the opportunity to reclaim the authority over our own bodies. I know what it was like before Roe v. Wade. I almost died from a stillbirth because, at the time, there were no protections for me. We cannot go back to those days. We must unite and mobilize to ensure that these rights are safeguarded within Florida law so future generations don’t have to face the same horrors as I once did. People, not politicians, should be in control of their reproductive health decisions, and that remains our goal today and every day.”
Florida State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens
“Abortion IS healthcare, and every Floridian should be able to access the care they need without government interference. I applaud the organizers and advocates who gathered over 900,000 signatures to reach this moment and get this important measure on the ballot. This decision belongs with the people of Florida – not politicians. Extreme, draconian laws that limit or ban access to reproductive healthcare endanger the health and lives of Floridians and belong nowhere near our books.”
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D−West Palm Beach
“The Florida Supreme Court decisions today are causing severe whiplash for millions of women in Florida and the south. On the one hand, the Court is allowing a devastating, dangerous law to go into effect in 30 days, banning abortions before most women even know that they are pregnant. At the same time, the court will allow Floridians to overrule this treacherous law in the November election. For women to be in charge of their health, lives, and futures, they must have the freedom to make their own decisions about whether or when to start or grow a family.”
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power
“We are very disappointed that a deceptively worded pro-abortion amendment is allowed to appear on Florida’s ballot in November. If passed, it will allow abortions up to 6 months of pregnancy and, thanks to a loophole, even to point of birth. Florida will become the most pro-abortion state in the southern U.S. That is NOT what Florida wants, and the Republican Party of Florida will fight to inform voters on the dangers of this amendment. It is of no surprise that Nikki Fried and the Florida Democrats will be celebrating this radical pro-abortion amendment on the ballot because their extreme agenda knows no bounds.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle
“Now Florida women are facing an even stricter abortion ban, and their right to make their own health care decisions will literally be on the ballot this November. The fight against these new restrictions on access to abortion will shine a brighter spotlight on Rick Scott’s long, dangerous record of supporting draconian abortion bans. In November, Florida voters will stand up for women’s freedom to make their most personal medical decisions by rejecting this abortion ban and firing Rick Scott from the Senate.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried
“Today’s rulings prove exactly what is at stake at the ballot box. Florida is now home to one of the strictest abortion bans in the country — a ban so extreme that most women won’t even know they’re pregnant before they pass the cutoff date. This November, it’s not just access to safe, legal abortion that’s on the line — it’s access to emergency medical care, medication abortion and contraception for the millions of women who depend on it each year. “Reproductive rights initiatives have won on every ballot since Donald Trump paved the way for the fall of Roe v. Wade, because the majority of Americans agree that doctors should decide what’s best for their patients — not the government.”
Florida Voice for the Unborn Executive Director Andrew Shirvell
“Florida Voice for the Unborn is profoundly disappointed in the Florida Supreme Court for deciding today to compromise with the abortion industry by allowing its misleading proposed constitutional amendment on this November’s General Election ballot, while taking way too long to finally issue, contemporaneously, its long-awaited decision to uphold 2022’s legislatively-enacted 15-Week Abortion Ban. Nonetheless, by overturning prior case law that had improperly held that the privacy clause of the Florida Constitution encompassed a so-called ‘right’ to obtain an abortion within the state of Florida, today’s favorable decision on the 15-Week Abortion Ban means that 2023’s Heartbeat Protection Act is now slated to go into full effect, including the prohibition on the vast majority of Florida abortions after six-weeks’ gestation — and that is a silver lining in an otherwise dark day for Florida’s unborn children.”
Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa
“Because of extremist politicians, the young women of Florida today have fewer freedoms than their mothers and grandmothers. In 30 days, Florida will ban abortions after six weeks. That’s before many women even know they’re pregnant, and before a lot of tests for fetal health and viability can be done. Out-of-touch politicians have spoken loud and clear: they think they know better than us, and they should control our personal freedoms. They want to make personal health care decisions for us that they have no business making. They don’t care what we want. They don’t care what our doctors say we need. They don’t care about what’s right for our faith or our families. They don’t care that the majority of Floridians want to secure and protect access to safe, legal abortions. This ruling shows how critical it is that Floridians pass Amendment 4 this November, because it will protect abortion access in Florida’s constitution.”
Florida State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando
“The language of Amendment 4 is perfectly clear and we are thankful that a majority of the members of the Florida Supreme Court agreed. The initiative would not change the state legislature's authority to enact a law requiring the parents of a minor to be notified if their child is seeking an abortion, with exceptions that can be attained through a judicial waiver. There is nothing unclear about the choice being given to Floridians this upcoming November.”
Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie
“This is one issue where Democrats, Republicans, and Independents agree: our private medical decisions are none of the government's business. Our freedom is on the line, and the situation has never been more urgent. Help reinstate reproductive rights this November by making sure over 60% of Florida voters support Amendment 4. It’s up to us.”
Florida state Sen. Lori Berman, D- Boca Raton
“Floridians want the right to make decisions about one’s own body without government interference. It is fundamental to individual autonomy and dignity. Reproductive choices such as abortion are decisions between a woman and her physician — and now in November, Floridians will reclaim that right in our Constitution.”
Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life
"We are pleased that Florida’s laws protecting preborn children were upheld. However, the court is allowing an extreme and detrimental ballot measure to move forward. Florida has made tremendous advances in protecting innocent human life and providing support for mothers. This ballot initiative would destroy Floridians' hard work in creating a culture that supports and protects life."
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju
“The Florida Supreme Court was right to let the ballot initiative go before voters — and it’s a good thing they did because voters will need to head to the polls to undo the damage the court is causing with its decision to allow an extreme ban on abortion to go into effect. This is devastating news for access to abortion care in the state and the entire South. It has never been more essential that the right to abortion be enshrined in the state constitution to protect access for Floridians and that we elect federal champions to protect the right to abortion at the national level.”
League of Women Voters of Florida co-president Cecile M. Scoon
"This issue is critical to the League because without the ability to make reproductive decisions for one’s own body, one cannot participate equally in our democracy. Florida’s six-week ban goes against the will of Floridians across the political spectrum. Now, it’s up to us as, advocates and citizens, to ensure our personal medical decisions are ours and ours alone to make. Women’s rights are human rights!”
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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