The ruling is a short-term victory for abortion rights defenders in Florida and comes a week after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and wiped out a constitutional right that had existed for half a century. For now, abortion in Florida will remain legal until the 24th week of pregnancy, making the state one of the most permissible in the South. DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw told CNN in a statement that the state intends to appeal the decision. “Although we are disappointed with today’s decision, we know that the pro-life HB 5 will eventually meet all the legal challenges,” Pushaw said. Abortion rights advocates and Democrats celebrated Cooper’s decision. In a statement, Democratic Party of Florida President Manny Diaz said the law was “a gross interference in personal medical decisions that should be between patients and their doctors.” “Politicians like the Governor have no business restricting Floridian health freedoms,” he added. In the short term, the decision will have far-reaching implications for women across the South, where so-called activation laws – bans designed to take effect with the overthrow of Roe v. Wade – and the bans that are no longer in a legal vacuum quickly cut off access to the process. For years, Florida has been a safe haven for women seeking abortion, and providers expect the state’s 55 clinics to be busy making appointments for women from surrounding states where abortion may soon be illegal. DeSantis signed the new abortion restrictions into law in April in a large church in the Orlando area surrounded by women and children and applauded by pastors, anti-abortion activists and other supporters. The law would prohibit abortion at 15 weeks without exception for women who become pregnant as a result of rape, incest or human trafficking. The law would allow abortions in cases where the pregnancy is a “serious risk” to the mother or if a fatal fetal abnormality is found and two doctors confirm the diagnosis in writing. About 75,000 of the 80,000 abortions reported by the state in 2021 occurred during the first quarter, which means that the vast majority of procedures will still be allowed under the new state law. Historically, Florida ranks among the states with the highest per capita abortions per year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The law directly challenged the legal precedent of decades that established abortion as constitutionally protected in Florida. The Florida state constitution includes the right to privacy, which the state Supreme Court has long interpreted as giving Florida people the freedom to have an abortion without government intervention. In his ruling from the seat, Cooper said the ban “violates the secrecy provision of the Florida Constitution.” While the ruling will delay the implementation of the state’s new abortion restrictions as the case progresses through the legal system, the expectation is that the state’s conservative Supreme Court will have the final say. All seven members of the state Supreme Court were appointed by Republican governors, including three elected by DeSantis. Until the case goes to the state Supreme Court, there may be a fourth DeSantis appointee on the bench due to recent retirement. Pushaw said it was the state’s argument that the Florida Supreme Court “previously misinterpreted Florida’s right to privacy as included in the right to abortion. We reject this interpretation because the Florida Constitution does not include – and has never included “a right to kill an innocent unborn child.” The dramatic change in the legal landscape in Florida has left Democrats and abortion rights advocates pessimistic that long-term legal protection will withstand this challenge for long. “We do not think this court will see it like any other court,” state minority leader Lauren Buck recently told CNN. “Any piece of protection, that minimum level of protection is gone.” CNN’s Alta Spells contributed to this report.
