Florida healthcare providers file lawsuit to block abortion ban News
© WikiMedia (Tony Webster)
Florida healthcare providers file lawsuit to block abortion ban

Florida healthcare providers Wednesday filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block Florida’s new abortion law, which bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, set to take effect July 1.

The complaint argues that Florida’s new abortion law, HB 5, “radically curtails the ability of Floridians to make decisions about whether or not to continue a pregnancy and have a child, in violation of their rights under the Florida Constitution.” Additionally, the complaint specifically states that HB 5 “criminalizes the provision of abortion care after fifteen weeks as dated from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period (LMP).”

The complaint also says that HB 5 “makes the provision of abortion care after 15 weeks LMP a felony and threatens clinics and healthcare professionals with adverse licensing and disciplinary action for providing essential health care to their patients.”

The healthcare providers are asking the court to enjoin the legislation to prevent it from taking effect and to strike it down.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida’s legal director Daniel Tilley released the following statement:

This law blatantly rejects Floridians’ need for essential abortion care and their strong support for the right to get an abortion. Not only does HB 5 defy the will of the people, it ignores the real life circumstances of people who need an abortion and deliberately puts them in harm’s way. With the U.S. Supreme Court threatening to take away the federal right to abortion, we will do everything in our power to block this cruel attack on Floridians’ fundamental right to get the care they need.