Message #58427

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/emergency-ruling-blocks-abortion-law-from-going-in/nmpWr/
6/30/15
UPDATE: Judge blocks abortion law from going into effect Wednesday

A judge this afternoon granted an emergency injunction that blocks Florida’s newest abortion law from going into effect tomorrow as planned.

The new law requires women to wait at least 24-hours after meeting in person with her doctor before the procedure can go forward. The law, which was scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday, will remain blocked while the case proceeds.

In an 11-page ruling, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Charles Francis emphasized that he was not ruling on whether the law violated a woman’s right to privacy but whether the groups that sought the emergency order were entitled to a temporary injunction.

“The court has no evidence in front of it in which to make any factual determination that a 24-hour waiting period with eh accompanying second trip necessitated by the same is not an additional burden on a woman’s right of privacy,” Francis wrote.

The lawsuit, brought by Medical Students for Choice and Bread and Roses Women’s Health Center in Gainesville, was filed by lawyers with the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union was filed the day after Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law on June 11. In it, the groups claim that the new law violates a woman’s right to privacy, guaranteed by the U.S. and Florida Constitutions.

“The court has recognized that this law serves only to demean women and the choices they and their families make about their own medical care,” said Renée Paradis, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “This decision ensures that the right to privacy guaranteed to women by the Florida Constitution will be protected and allows women to receive the care they need while the courts hear our legal challenge to this unconstitutional law.”

The bill prompted passionate debate during this spring’s regular legislative session, but passed overwhelmingly in the Republican-controlled House and Senate.

It adds to an already-existing law that requires physicians performing abortions to provide information to women to obtain their consent.That existing law includes a requirement that women undergo an ultrasound before an abortion and be shown the images and hear an explanation unless they sign a form refusing.

The new law means pregnant women must go to the clinic twice for an abortion — once to meet with the physician, “physically present in the same room, and at least 24 hours before the procedure” and a second time for the actual procedure.