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The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe V. Wade. Here's what that means for Florida

Protestors rallied outside the Florida Supreme Court after the U.S. Supreme Court leaked an opinion earlier this year indicating it was likely to overturn Roe V. Wade. (Regan McCarthy/WFSU Public Media)
Protestors rallied outside the Florida Supreme Court after the U.S. Supreme Court leaked an opinion earlier this year indicating it was likely to overturn Roe V. Wade. (Regan McCarthy/WFSU Public Media)

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe V. Wade. The decision removes the federal right to abortion care and hands decisions about abortion access to individual states.

In Florida, a law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy is set to go into effect July first. The American Civil Liberties Union and other reproductive rights groups have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block it. A hearing in that case is set for Monday.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe V. Wade removes a federal hurdle that Florida's 15 week abortion ban measure could have faced. But a state hurdle remains in place. The state constitution has privacy protections that are broader and stronger than in the U.S. Constitution.

“It’s very clear under binding precedent that the right to decide to terminate a pregnancy is a central right to Florida’s privacy clause and that’s what we’re relying on in this case," said ACLU lawyer Whitney White.

White is a staff attorney with the Reproductive Freedom Project at the ACLU. She's involved in the hearing Monday to request an injunction against Florida's new law.

Florida House of Representatives Majority Speaker Chris Sprowls said on Twitter that the chamber will "shift to the state courts and the Florida Supreme Court as they evaluate" an abortion law recently passed by the state legislature banning most abortions after 15 weeks.

My statement on the SCOTUS Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade: pic.twitter.com/T3K0vIT5X7 — Chris Sprowls (@ChrisSprowls) June 24, 2022

In a Tweet, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state will "continue to defend its recently enacted pro-life reforms against state court challenges" and "work to expand pro-life protections..."

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1540378975251341315

 

A ruling in the case is expected before the law is set to go into effect July first.

WFSU is an NPR station in Tallahassee.