The astonishing radicalism of new Florida abortion ban
In spring 2022, just months before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans in Florida passed a law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, down from the previous legal threshold of 24 weeks. It took effect that summer, but advocates for reproductive rights challenged it in state court as unconstitutional.
One year later, Republicans in Florida took even more aggressive action against reproductive freedom: Gov. Ron Desantis signed a new bill to restrict abortion at six weeks of pregnancy. But the fate of that law rested on what the court would decide about the 15-week ban. If it decided that ban was legal, the six-week ban would be, too.
Last week, nearly two years after challengers first filed their lawsuit, the Florida Supreme Court finally issued its ruling: The 15-week ban is constitutional under state law, and therefore the six-week ban will take effect on May 1.
In practical terms, six weeks is a total ban. Many people do not even know they’re pregnant by then. Even if they are aware, Florida requires patients seeking abortions to complete two in-person doctor visits with a 24-hour waiting period in between, a challenging logistical burden to meet before 15 weeks and a nearly impossible one before six.
Not only will the sixweek ban decimate abortion access for Florida residents, but it will also significantly curtail care for people across the South, who have been traveling to Florida from more restrictive states since Roe was overturned. Residents of Florida’s bordering states face either a total ban (Alabama) or a six-week ban (Georgia).
Florida’s law not only bans abortion after six weeks but also bans abortion by telemedicine and requires any medication abortion to be dispensed in person, which effectively outlaws mail orders of the pills.) At the time it was passed, no other state had a six-week ban with a requirement for two in-person doctor visits and no option for telehealth.
While the law includes exceptions for rape and incest, it requires anyone claiming those exceptions to provide a copy of a police report, medical record, or court order — even though victims often do not involve law enforcement.
Six weeks is simply not enough time for the vast majority of people to get abortion care, especially if remote options are off the table. In medical terms, pregnancy is measured from the date of the last menstrual period, not from the date of conception, and up to 25% of women don’t have regular menstrual cycles, meaning a missed period wouldn’t signal anything unusual. It can take at least three weeks for a pregnancy hormone to appear on a home pregnancy test, and while blood tests can also confirm pregnancies, Florida health care professionals testified that it can take weeks to months to get an appointment with an OB-GYN, with wait times particularly long for low-income and Black Floridians.
Once a pregnancy is confirmed, a patient, under Florida law, would need to schedule an ultrasound with an abortion provider. Scheduling these appointments takes even more time. Annie Filkowski, the policy director of Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, told Vox in 2023 that wait times at their clinics average about 20 days.
One glimmer of hope for Florida and the entire South is a second ruling the Florida Supreme Court issued on Monday: A ballot measure to protect abortion access in the state can move forward.
The measure, which would need support from at least 60% of Florida voters this November to pass, would amend Florida’s constitution to protect abortion rights up to the point of fetal viability, or typically between 22 and 24 weeks of a pregnancy.
Past polling indicates extreme abortion restrictions are not supported by the Florida public. In one survey by Florida Atlantic University, 67% of Floridians said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while just 12% supported a total ban.
Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said the Supreme Court’s decision “paves the way for Florida voters to stop these ridiculous abortion bans once and for all.”