Florida Abortion Waiting Period To Take Effect
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A temporary injunction that has blocked a new law requiring women to wait 24 hours before having abortions in Florida has been overturned by an appeals court.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal said a Leon County circuit judge failed to show the need for the injunction, issued last summer after the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott approved the law.
"Here, the (circuit) court failed to make sufficient factually-supported findings about the existence of a significant restriction on a woman's right to seek an abortion,'' the appeals-court ruling said.
Under the law, abortion information would have to be provided in person to women at least 24 hours before the procedures are performed --- requiring them to make two trips to abortion clinics.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights challenged the law, arguing in part that it would be an intrusion into private medical decisions. Supporters of the law argue the waiting period will give women more time to reflect on whether to have abortions.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.