In its rush to rid society of abortions, the US Supreme Court appears poised to weaken a very important constitutional guarantee against undue government interference. The Florida Supreme Court should not make the same mistake.
Our state constitution guarantees the right to privacy, a standard used by previous Florida Supreme Court justices to protect abortion. The current court is much more conservative, and abortion rights advocates fear that justices could reinterpret the privacy amendment and erode a legal stronghold by further restricting abortions.
“Because safe access to abortion is what the Florida Constitution provides and is what Floridians prefer, abortion opponents have no way through a ballot initiative or through the Legislature to constitutionally restrict that access,” Daniel Tilley, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida told USA Today Network — Florida. “Their only route is instead through the Florida Supreme Court, which is the only entity that can interpret, firmly, Florida constitutional law.”
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Last week, a leaked draft majority opinion from the US Supreme Court signaled the likely end of Roe v. Wade, a 49-year ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion. The protection was based on Amendment 14The due process clause that promotes the “right to privacy.” Since that right was an interpretation of the justices and is not spelled out in the Constitution, the current conservative majority on the court felt justified in ending federal protections against abortion.
Abortion is not the only “right” not mentioned in the Constitution. Access to contraceptives and the right to same-sex and interracial marriage also depend on judicial interpretation, which has worried many that those rights will also come under attack.
Florida Constitution, in Article 1 Section 23, enunciates “the right to be left alone and free from government intrusion into a person’s private life.” Voters approved that amendment more than 40 years ago by a 60% margin. The only exceptions to that privacy wall to date are efforts to circumvent the state’s public records and open meeting laws. More restrictions on abortion could open the door to more damaging exceptions.
As a candidate, Governor Ron DeSantis supported a fetal heartbeat count that would have prohibited a doctor from performing an abortion if a heartbeat was detected. As governor, he passed a law requiring parental consent before a minor can have an abortion. More recently, he signed legislation banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy, joining other Republican-led states in hoping the US Supreme Court would place similar restrictions in a Mississippi case.
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It is now clear that the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court wants an even stricter restriction than 15 weeks, leaving abortion opponents utterly stunned that their half-century quest to ban all abortions is over. coming to a favorable end. The anti-abortion organization Florida Voice for the Unbornfor example, he was quick to issue a press release calling on Governor DeSantis to include a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in Florida during the upcoming special session of the Florida Legislature, initially called to address the property insurance crisis. .
And yet Republicans are reacting to the High Court leak like the proverbial dog that chased a speeding car and finally caught it. A close victory cannot be celebrated, because a large majority of Florida voters support the election.
Instead, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, chaired by Florida junior senator Rick Scott, is using poll-proven data. advise republicans how to come across as compassionate consensus builders, while punishing Democrats for being extremists and lying about Republican views on abortion and women’s health. Even Gov. DeSantis, usually bellicose on issues that help him politically, demurred when asked by reporters if he would include abortion in this month’s special session.
The reality is that opposition from an angry electorate is mounting. Poll after poll shows that a majority of Americans believe the US Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade. The sentiment is the same in Florida, where a recent poll by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab found that 57% oppose the state’s 15-week abortion ban.
In a post-Roe world, the Florida Supreme Court will ultimately rule on future abortions. The smart move would be to respect court precedent and avoid a ruling that allows more restrictions on abortion but invites state lawmakers to further inroads into the lives of Floridians. We need our judges to lead, not follow.
Reference-www.palmbeachpost.com