Amicus Briefs Filed to Support Case Against Florida Abortion Ban
The American Medical Assoiation and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are among the organizations supporting the challenge to the state's 15-week ban.
On March 9, seven amicus briefs were filed with the Florida Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, et al. v. State of Florida, et al. in support of the challenge to Florida’s H.B. 5, which bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case was filed by the Center and its partners in June 2022.
Leading medical organizations—including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine—filed briefs, as did local and state elected officials; religious, reproductive justice, and anti-domestic violence organizations and advocates; and state constitutional law professors.
The briefs highlight the profound harm H.B. 5 has had on Floridians since it went into effect in July 2022. The ban has forced people in need of essential abortion services to either travel long distances out of state to attempt to access care or to carry pregnancies against their will.
“The evidence is clear—Florida’s 15-week ban has inflicted devastating harms on residents,” said Autumn Katz, the Center’s interim director of litigation. “Experts ranging from community advocacy groups to faith leaders from diverse backgrounds to the nation’s leading women’s health organization have documented how these impacts have jeopardized Floridians’ health and lives for almost a year now. It is up to the Florida Supreme Court to step in and protect Floridians’ rights under the state constitution and their freedom to control their own bodies.”
These amicus brief filings come just days after the Florida Legislature introduced a new extreme abortion ban designed to go into effect if the Florida Supreme Court overturns the state’s constitutional protections for abortion. The new bill, House Bill 7 (H.B. 7), bans abortion after about six weeks—before many patients even know they are pregnant.
Read the amicus briefs:
- Floridians for Reproductive Freedom’s Amicus Curiae Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
- ACOG, AMA, & Society for MFM Amicus Curiae Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
- Elected Officials’ Amicus Curiae Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
- FL Justice & Reproductive Justice Orgs. Amicus Curiae Motion & Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
- Law Professors’ Amicus Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
- Religious Groups’ Amicus Curiae Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
- Sanctuary for Families’ Amicus Curiae Brief for Petitioners, 03.09.23
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