Presidential Women’s Center v. Florida

Filing date: 06/28/1997

State: Florida

Plaintiff(s): Presidential Women’s Center

Center Attorney(s): , Janet Crepps, Suzanne Novak

Summary: In 2002, CRR joined this case as co-counsel on behalf of Florida abortion clinics and doctors challenging Florida’s “Woman’s Right-To-Know Act,” which became law in 1997 and was enjoined immediately thereafter by a Florida state court. , Plaintiffs allege that various provisions of the Act violate the right to privacy under the Florida Constitution, and the right to due process under the Florida and United States Constitutions.

In the initial part of this litigation, Plaintiffs argued that the Act should be invalidated permanently because its oral “informed consent” provision prevented a doctor from tailoring the information provided to a woman to her individual circumstances. , The trial court and intermediate appellate courts agreed and ruled in our favor. , However, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the informed consent provision after construing it to impose a “neutral” requirement comparable to that applicable to all medical procedure under the common law, and simply “requir[ing] the physician to describe the medical procedure to the patient and inform her of the medical risks of having a termination procedure and carrying a pregnancy to term.” ,

The case is now on remand in the trial court for further proceedings on Plaintiffs’ claims against other provisions of the Act.