After a judge in Florida temporarily halted the state’s ban abortions over 15 weeks pregnant, a state appeal reinstated the ban on Tuesday.
Judge John Cooper of the Court of Appeal in FloridaTallahassee has ruled that the proposed ban — enshrined in a bill approved by Republican lawmakers in April — violates privacy protections in the state constitution.
The Cooper decision temporarily halted the ban, but did not affect the ban on abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. But the state’s appeal automatically secured a temporary suspension of the more restrictive measure, meaning the ban is still in place as the case continues.
“The Florida the constitution does not include — and never has included — the right to kill an innocent unborn child,” a spokesman for Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said last week.
The move is the latest in a series of controversial state court rulings following the federal high court’s recent decision to overturn its landmark Roe v. Wade an ordinance that granted nationwide abortion rights in 1973. Abortion is currently banned in at least eight states, and more bans are expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.
Other states are expected to follow procedures similar to those in Florida. In late June, a Kentucky judge temporarily halted a U.S. Supreme Court ban on abortion. Kentucky’s law provided for an almost complete ban on abortion.
In Southern states that passed abortion bans pending Roe’s overturn, abortion rights advocates sued to at least delay the abortion ban following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.
According to the data, more than 79,000 abortions were performed in Florida last year data from a state health agency. About 94% of these cases occurred in the first trimester, which lasts until the 11th week of pregnancy.
“Florida politicians have turned their backs on women and people who can get pregnant, forcing us into second-class status, denying us the right to make decisions about our bodies, our health care and our futures,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote. in tweet on Tuesday.
Florida Republican leaders are expected to continue pushing for abortion restrictions. Republican Representative Anthony Sabatini said in late June that he was pushing for a special session for the Legislature to pass tougher abortion laws.
“We must pass the heartbeat bill and other strong … measures to protect Florida’s unborn,” he tweeted.
