Florida Supreme Court hears challenge to pro-life law

The court on Friday heard opening arguments in a case brought by pro-abortion groups against a state law that protects babies after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The plaintiffs claim the Florida constitution’s privacy clause prohibits the government from restricting abortion. Attorneys for the state said the clause primarily protects personal information and does not guarantee a right to abortion.

What happens next? If the Florida Supreme Court rules in favor of the state, a new law to protect babies after six weeks of pregnancy is set to take effect 30 days later. Meanwhile, the pro-abortion group Floridians Protecting Freedom wants to put a right to abortion on next year’s ballot. The organization on Friday reached the signature threshold necessary to trigger a state Supreme Court review of the ballot language. It needs more than 800,000 valid signatures to bring the measure to voters.

Dig deeper: Listen to Leah Savas’ report on The World and Everything in It podcast about how women are ordering abortion pills online.