Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged Thursday to appeal a court ruling that temporarily blocks the state’s 15-week abortion ban from taking effect.
As the judge’s ruling is just the first in what is expected to be a lengthy court battle, DeSantis’s office said he will appeal the decision until it reaches the Florida Supreme Court to “reverse its existing precedent regarding Florida’s right to privacy,” according to Politico.
“These are unborn babies that have heartbeats. They can feel pain. They can suck their thumb,” DeSantis told reporters. “And to say the state Constitution mandates things like dismemberment abortions, I just don’t think that’s the proper interpretation.”
Second Judicial Circuit Court Judge John Cooper said Thursday that he would issue a temporary injunction on the state’s abortion law, which was set to take effect after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade last week. The law, known as House Bill 5, was signed by DeSantis in April and bans abortion after 15 weeks with exceptions for when the mother’s life is in danger or the baby has a “fatal fetal abnormality.”
“The Florida Supreme Court has determined Florida’s privacy’s provision is clearly implicated in a woman’s decision in whether or not to continue her pregnancy,” Cooper said.
Florida’s court challenge is one of several across the United States as abortion providers seek temporary injunctions to their state’s abortion bans, including in Kentucky and Utah, allowing the procedure to resume temporarily in several states.
