Florida Supreme Court to Review Law Forcing Women to Delay Abortion Care

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court agreed to review a law that prevents a woman from getting an abortion for at least 24 hours after visiting her doctor and requires her to make an additional, medically unnecessary trip to the clinic before she can access abortion care.

Julia Kaye, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, had this reaction:

“Florida voters have made clear that they do not want politicians interfering with their private decisions, but that is precisely what this mandatory delay law does. We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will agree that this harmful and insulting law, which only serves to make life harder for a woman who has decided to have an abortion, should not be allowed to take effect.”

A trial court put the mandatory delay law on hold last summer, but a state appellate court reversed that order in late February and allowed the law to take effect. Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court reinstated the temporary injunction blocking the law. It will remain on hold while the Supreme Court considers the case.

The mandatory delay law is just one of a series of onerous laws that Florida politicians have passed recently. In late March, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law HB 1411, which blocks access to comprehensive reproductive health care from all angles by imposing burdensome requirements on abortion providers, taking away funding for contraceptive care from entities that also provide abortions, and targeting any person or organization that counsels or helps a woman who has made the decision to end a pregnancy.