In Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida v. State of Florida, abortion advocates argue that it is unconstitutional under the Florida Constitution to ban abortions after 15 weeks. That is based on a 1980s ruling from a different Florida Supreme Court that said the state's privacy clause includes abortion.
The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), however, does not believe that was an accurate ruling and said as much in a friend of the court brief filed by attorney Christine Pratt of First Liberty Institute.
"There is a provision in the Florida Constitution that discusses a right to privacy. That is all that it says," Pratt relays. "It simply says, 'Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life except as otherwise provided herein.'"
That is the issue before the Florida Supreme Court, and First Liberty's client, NIFLA, is asking the court to leave Florida's abortion law, which prohibits abortion after 15 weeks, in place, declare that to be constitutional, "and to simply do the right thing."
But as Lynda Bell of Florida Right to Life accounts, when pro-life legislation is up for discussion, liberals come out swinging. She says she was stunned when she recently attended a hearing on SB 300, the state's Heartbeat Protection Act.
"The Left was apoplectic," she reports. "They were going crazy. I never heard so much nonsense in my life. I actually heard one woman say that a baby is not a baby until it takes a breath, and another woman said a baby's not a baby until it's born, and then a so-called expert stood up and said that a fetus is not a baby."
Meanwhile, science reveals the opposite to be true; a baby is a baby at conception.
"Now you have the Senate minority leader out there screaming that women are going to die," Bell relays.
When the bill, which will limit most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, started gaining traction in the Senate, Lauren Brook (D) warned, "Women's lives are being put at risk."
That is a claim made by many since Roe v. Wade was revisited and ultimately overturned last year. But months later, research continues to reveal that pro-life laws actually protect pregnant women.
"I never hear them screaming when women die from abortions," Bell adds.
Abortion supporters' feathers are further ruffled by the fact that Florida is now enforcing rules and regulations on abortion clinics, some which have been shut down because they were so dangerous.
"I think this goes to show you how lax in the past that the state has been in following the pro-life laws, the abortion laws, and even the safety factors that are on the books to protect women," the pro-lifer decides.
In 2015, Florida legislators approved a law requiring abortion-minded women to wait 24 hours before aborting their children, but it remained in limbo after the American Civil Liberties Union challenged it. Since a judge upheld the law, and thanks to pro-life Governor Ron DeSantis' strong leadership, the Agency for Health Care Administration has been issuing fines to abortion providers for violating that law.
