Representative Lois Frankel (D-FL) has released a statement following the arguments heard in the Florida Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) 15-week and six-week abortion ban.
The case, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, et al. vs. the State of Florida, calls on the Florida Supreme Court to either uphold the original 15-week ban or strike it down, returning Florida to the former 24-week standard. Should the Court uphold the 15-week ban, the six-week ban would then go into effect.
“Today’s Supreme Court case will carry massive ramifications for women across Florida and the entire Southeast,” said Rep. Frankel. “Governor DeSantis’s cruel abortion ban would restrict access to abortion care before many women even know they are pregnant. Women should have the freedom to make the decision of when or whether to start or grow a family without interference from politicians.”
Moreover, Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) echoed this sentiment, stating that “the choice is clear.”
Today the Florida Supreme Court finished hearing oral arguments on the constitutionality of Ron DeSantis’s abortion ban. The choice is clear – protect and defend our state constitution and people’s right to privacy, or stand with Republican extremists like Gov. DeSantis to take… pic.twitter.com/N7KBIjPjps
— Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@RepMaxwellFrost) September 8, 2023
"Today the Florida Supreme Court finished hearing oral arguments on the constitutionality of Ron DeSantis’s abortion ban. The choice is clear – protect and defend our state constitution and people’s right to privacy, or stand with Republican extremists like Gov. DeSantis to take away our rights," Rep. Frost asserted.
The 1989 Florida Supreme Court decision In Re: TW ruled that abortion access was protected under the right to privacy enshrined in the Florida Constitution in 1980. In order to pass the 15-week and later 6-week abortion prohibitions, Florida Republicans asked the Supreme Court to reject the ruling.
Rep. Frost did not mince words, referring to Gov. DeSantis and "and his extremist lapdogs," a condemnation of Gov. DeSantis' allies in the State Legislature in March, as having "no right to interfere in the personal and private lives of Florida women and people of reproductive age."
Additionally, he called the 15-week and 6-week prohibitions "radical attempts to control Floridians' bodies and healthcare decisions."
"But let's be clear that the decision to seek a medical abortion is one that a person only needs to make in consultation with their doctor and themselves, not Ron DeSantis or the State of Florida," Frost continued.
According to Rep. Frankel’s press release, abortion providers are expecting a decision from the Florida Supreme Court as early as next month.
