Advisory Opinion to Att'y Gen. re Limiting Gov't Interference With Abortion
Supreme Court of Florida, 4/1/24
No. SC2023-1392, 2024 WL 1363899
Per Curiam
Topics: Abortion
Quick Take: In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Florida has approved for placement on the November 2024 ballot a proposed Florida Constitutional amendment protecting Floridians’ right to an abortion. At the time of the November 2024 vote, Florida law will contain a 6-week ban on abortion. The proposed amendment will provide that “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider.” It will contain an exception that the amendment will not be construed to change the Legislature's constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion. Sixty percent of voters must approve the constitutional amendment for it to be added to Florida law.
This opinion was issued on the same day that the Court receded from decades of Florida precedent that Florida’s Privacy Clause, adopted in 1980, already protected abortion rights, with the current court deciding that the Privacy Clause does not provide a right to abortion. And this decision triggers a new Florida statute imposing a ban on abortions 6 weeks after pregnancy.