Reuters: Florida judge blocks abortion delay law, rules it unconstitutional
On Tuesday a Florida judge ruled Florida’s 24-hour abortion wait period unconstitutional. North Carolina also has a law that requires you wait at least 24 hours before receiving abortion care. Wait periods restrict abortion access for many and ultimately hurt those seeking abortion care. There is no need to make people wait for an abortion. People know what they want long before they enter an abortion clinic.
A Florida judge on Tuesday permanently blocked and declared unconstitutional a law requiring a woman to delay an abortion by at least 24 hours after making a visit to a doctor who would have to inform her of possible risks of the procedure.
“Florida law subjects no other medical procedure, including those that pose greater health risks than abortion, to a mandatory delay,” Circuit Judge Terry Lewis wrote in his judgment.
The state constitution includes a directive from citizens to their government to stay out of their personal matters unless there is good reason, Lewis said. “And it’s hard to imagine a more private, personal matter … as the decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy,” he said.
The lawsuit against the state of Florida was brought on behalf of a Gainesville abortion clinic and Medical Students for Choice by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Center for Reproductive Rights and Tallahassee attorney Richard Johnson.
