Judges lift injunction on Florida abortion waiting period

Florida will finally be able to enforce a law requiring a 24-hour waiting period before abortions, following a decision Friday by the state’s First District Court of Appeals to lift an injunction against it.

The Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union had filed to block the law on behalf of an abortion facility in Gainesville, FL, arguing that “law poses a real hardship to many Florida women.” The ACLU plans to appeal the case, arguing that a privacy clause in the state constitution grants abortion extra protection in the state.

However, the First District three-judge panel ruling against the ACLU determined that the plaintiffs failed to prove either that their lawsuit was likely to succeed or that it would subject Florida women to “irreparable harm.”

“The pregnancy health centers will tell you that waiting periods do help women confide in them and seek them and see what their options are,” Priests for Life executive director Janet Morana said, hailing the news. “A waiting period is giving women more options and more choice, which is supposed to be what it’s about, isn’t it?”

This law, which contains exceptions for rape, incest, domestic abuse, or human trafficking, is one of 27 states with abortion waiting periods is on the books.