State Urges Court To Reject Abortion Case Appeal
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Attorney General Pam Bondi's office has urged the Florida Supreme Court to turn down an appeal in a legal battle over a 2015 law that requires women to wait 24 hours before having abortions.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal in February overturned a temporary injunction that had blocked the law from taking effect. Plaintiffs in the case then went to the Supreme Court, contending in part that the law "prevents a woman seeking an abortion from having the procedure for at least 24 hours after meeting with her physician, and requires her to make an additional, medically unnecessary trip to her doctor. As a result of the DCA (District Court of Appeal) order, these unprecedented restrictions on the fundamental right to privacy are currently in effect."
But in a brief filed Monday, Bondi's office argued the Supreme Court should not take up the case. The brief said the appeals court ruled that a circuit judge did not show adequate "factual findings" to impose the injunction.
"Petitioners (the plaintiffs) claim that a duly enacted law is facially unconstitutional,'' the state's brief said. "But in order to obtain the extraordinary relief of enjoining a law as facially invalid, petitioners must satisfy their heavy burden to put forth in the trial court competent, substantial evidence establishing the elements necessary to sustain an injunction. … They have not done so."
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
