ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The legal battle over Florida's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks could be headed for the state's highest court.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, along with several abortion providers, are asking the Florida Supreme Court to review an appellate court decision allowing the state's new 15-week limit on abortions to remain in effect.
A three-judge panel of the First District Court of Appeal in July ruled abortion providers had not shown they would suffer "irreparable harm" from the limits under the new law.
The notice filed by attorneys representing abortion rights advocates and providers wants the state Supreme Court to review that ruling, which allows the ban to remain in effect as litigation continues.
This comes after a lower court judge issued a temporary injunction against the new law, which state lawmakers approved and was signed earlier this year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The state appealed the ruling, placing a stay on the injunction. The appeals court refused to vacate the stay.
Attorneys for abortion providers argue the state's 15-week limit violates the privacy clause in the Florida Constitution, which the state's Supreme Court several times has reaffirmed guarantees the right to an abortion.
“We hope the court honors its prior precedents and takes up our request to put an end to the nightmare patients in Florida have suffered through for over a month," ACLU attorney Whitney White said in a statement.
The Florida law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions if the procedure is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.
Violators could face up to five years in prison. Physicians and other medical professionals could lose their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation, according to the law.
Data shows the majority of abortions in Florida occur before 15 weeks. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report said about 2% of the nearly 72,000 abortions reported in Florida in 2019 were performed after 15 weeks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.