Florida Court Rules Anti-Abortion Law Violates State Constitution

What’s the difference between the State Constitution of Florida, and the U.S. Constitution? Well, one major difference is that Florida’s Constitution explicitly affirms a right to privacy — the same right that the Supreme Court said was implied, if not outright stated, in the U.S. Constitution when initially deciding Roe v. Wade.

The result of that, now, is that a court in Florida has ruled that, despite SCOTUS’s recent ruling that abortion bans are not unConstitutional on a Federal level, the ban passed in the state does violate the Florida Constitution.

Florida Representative Anna Eskamani shared the news on Twitter, warning constituents that the win may be only temporary, as she expects Governor Ron DeSantis will find a way to appeal.

BREAKING: Judge rules that HB5, FL's 15 week abortion ban, is unconstitutional and violates the privacy provision of the State Constitution & he supports a temporary statewide injunction. His order will not happen until he signs it.

An important win for abortion rights in FL.

— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) June 30, 2022

As she notes, the order has not been signed yet, but is expected to include a statewide injunction against enforcing the ban.

It's unclear how long this order will last, we will not know the specifics until we see the final order.

Anti-abortion extremists have tried to eliminate this right to privacy for decades. Twice just in the last ten years. They failed because Floridians care about privacy.

— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) June 30, 2022

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Eskamani also warns that there have been efforts before to remove the right to privacy from the state’s Constitution, so that could potentially be a point of attack again.

The Florida Constitution is pretty clear on the right to privacy, currently:

SECTION 23. Right of privacy.—Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as otherwise provided herein.

The Washington Post reports that the law, banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, was to take effect on Friday.

Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper reportedly told the court, “I’m not here to litigate abortion, I’m here to litigate the right to privacy in Florida. I’m not here to litigate Roe v. Wade.”