In Florida, the Supreme Court authorized the entry into force of a law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the 1er April suspension of law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The text was promoted in April 2023 by the state’s ultraconservative Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. So the law will come into force in thirty days.
“This extreme new ban – which Donald Trump personally paved the way for – will represent a ban for the entire Southeast” of the country, US President Joe Biden’s campaign team responded in a press release. The outgoing Democratic president made protecting the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy a centerpiece of his campaign against his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
However, on the same day, abortion rights activists won a victory, the Florida Supreme Court also upheld the inclusion on the ballot in the November US elections of an amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion.
Abortion rights activists are trying to get the issue on the ballot in about fifteen states across the country, which could facilitate a mobilization of Democratic voters, especially among young people. Among these states, some states like Pennsylvania (Northeast), Arizona or Nevada (Southwest) are likely to jump to the polls. They have won their cases in the states of New York and Maryland (East) and now in Florida.
Donald Trump’s ambiguous status
A citizen petition with the required number of approximately 900,000 signatories proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution “Limits state intervention in abortion”. The state supreme court overruled the objections of the Republican authorities and “Approves the inclusion of the proposed amendment on a vote” During the presidential and assembly elections in November.
If passed by at least 60% of the vote, the amendment would be added to the Florida Constitution’s Bill of Rights. It forbids “Adoption of laws prohibiting, criminalizing, delaying or prohibiting abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the health of the patient”Fetal viability is usually estimated around 24 weeks.
Lauren Brenzel, one of the petition’s authors, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, asserting in a statement that state politicians “Most women tried to ban abortion before they knew they were pregnant.”.
“Floridians saw their legislature pass a ban on abortion beginning at fifteen weeks, then six weeks, and this is our chance to participate in direct democracy to stop these unpopular and harmful policies”she added.
In March, Donald Trump announced that he might support a national ban beyond fifteen or sixteen weeks. But he also thought it was not up to the federal administration to decide these questions, warning against the electoral costs of an overly conservative position on this notoriously sensitive topic.
The former president takes pride in his appointments to the United States Supreme Court, leading to the reversal of the June 2022 jurisprudence that struck down the federal guarantee of the right to abortion. The decision has given states full latitude to legislate in this area, with nearly twenty banning or severely restricting access to abortion.
