State Given Additional Time to Defend Abortion Reflection Period

Last month, a Tallahassee judge allowed Florida officials more time to present their defense of a 2015 law requiring women to wait 24 hours before having abortions. Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis gave the state an additional 60 days to make its case. In February 2017, the Florida Supreme Court approved a temporary injunction against the law, blocking it from taking effect in light of the pending legal challenge in Gainesville Woman Care v. State of Florida.

In August 2016, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops filed an amicus curiae brief in the case. The Pellegrino Center for Bioethics at Georgetown, the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the Catholic Medical Association joined the FCCB on the brief, which highlights the law's benefits from a bioethical perspective.

Legislation to ensure a woman has one day to reflect on her decision prior to receiving an abortion was supported by the FCCB and highlighted by Catholic Days at the Capitol participants during the 2015 legislative session.