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Florida Supreme Court Blocks State Law On Abortion Waiting Period

Florida Supreme Court Building. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Florida Supreme Court Building. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Florida Supreme Court is backing up a lower court’s decision to put Florida’s abortion waiting period law on hold.

The high court has ruled the burden of proof falls on the state. Writing for the majority, Justice Barbara Pariente says the law triggers Florida’s strong privacy protections, and the state needs to prove a compelling interest by the least restrictive means. Original sponsor Mount Dora Republican Representative Jennifer Sullivan believes her measure is lawful.

“I do believe that if you look at the evidence of the case, and this law, and you interpret the Florida Constitution—as narrowly tailored as it is, with privacy clauses—that it is constitutional,” said Sullivan.

The ruling leaves the temporary injunction in place.

Litigation to determine whether the law is constitutional could continue.

Nicole came to Central Florida to attend Rollins College and started working for Orlando’s ABC News Radio affiliate shortly after graduation. She joined WMFE in 2010. As a field reporter, news anchor and radio show host in the City Beautiful, she has covered everything from local arts to national elections, from extraordinary hurricanes to historic space flights, from the people and procedures of Florida’s justice system to the changing face of the state’s economy.