TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida judge will decide on Thursday whether to block enforcement of the state’s new 15-week abortion ban, which is set to take effect on Friday.
The law, similar to the Mississippi statute at the heart of the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade last week, was signed this spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis. It includes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
Regardless of the Supreme Court ruling, health care providers argue that the Florida law violates the state constitution’s protection of individual privacy rights. In previous state rulings, that has been interpreted to include the right to abortion.
Until now, Florida has had fewer restrictions on abortion than other Southern states, making it a refuge for women across the region who are seeking abortions.
Judge John C. Cooper of the state’s Second Judicial Circuit Court heard a full day of testimony on Monday, much of which focused on the safety of abortion, when life begins and when a fetus might feel pain. At one point a lawyer for the state argued that medical science has made “huge leaps forward since Roe versus Wade was decided” — prompting the judge to caution him: “This is not about Roe versus Wade. This is about Florida’s right to privacy.”
The two sides presented competing medical experts who described the practice and effects of abortion in starkly different terms.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, a senior fellow and director of medical affairs for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion research organization, testified on behalf of the state. She described abortion as “substantially more difficult and dangerous after the 15th week of gestation” and criticized the state of data collection across the country. “We are vastly underestimating complications” from abortions, she said.
Dr. Shelly Tien, a gynecologist who works for Planned Parenthood in Jacksonville as well as a clinic in Arizona, testified on behalf of the plaintiffs and rebutted that argument. “Our tracking of pregnancy-related events is very detailed,” she said.
And, Dr. Tien said, serious complications from abortions are rare.
Judge Cooper will hear closing arguments on Thursday and then deliver his ruling. Advocates on both sides expect the case to eventually be appealed to the state Supreme Court.