Florida state attorney attacks ACLU abortion law challenge

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The state of Florida is firing back at a lawsuit that seeks to block part of a controversial abortion law that was passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Rick Scott last year.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's office filed a 29-page document arguing against a motion filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the case last month on the behalf of clergy members and abortion-rights proponents. The group targeted part of the law dealing with people or organizations that provide advice to women considering abortions.

The case also focuses on the requirement that says people or groups who are considered abortion "referral or counseling" agencies will have to register with the state Agency for Health Care.

The ACLU believes that the registration requirement could apply to a broad range of people or groups that might provide counseling, including clergy members.

The ACLU said that those requirements in the law violate First Amendment and privacy rights.

The attorney general’s office said that U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle should deny a request by the ACLU for a preliminary injunction against the challenged part of the law.

Last week, Bondi’s office defended the registration requirement, and said that the plaintiffs "blatantly misconceive and distort the nature of that provision, in several key respects, to create a false impression of an adverse impact on the First Amendment's free speech right."

"As part of regulating medical providers, including hospitals and abortion clinics, AHCA (the Agency for Health Care Administration) may permissibly maintain a passive registry of entities paid to advise or give referrals on certain medical procedures; plaintiffs have presented no legal barrier to such a registration system," said the response filed in federal court in Tallahassee.

The ACLU is also targeting part of the law that requires people who counsel women about abortion to provide explanations of the procedure, including alternatives, before they make referrals or assist in obtaining abortions.

"It compels private, noncommercial speakers without medical expertise to deliver a state-mandated speech before aiding a woman seeking an abortion in violation of the speaker's First Amendment right to decide for him- or herself what not to say," the complaint said.

But the response from the state raises a series of objections to the ACLU's attempt to block the law, including arguing that the plaintiffs do not have any legal standing to bring the case.

This case is the latest in a number of legal battles in state and federal courts about abortion laws passed.

Last summer, Hinkle sided with abortion providers when challenging other parts of the wide-ranging law approved in 2016.

In that decision, Hinkle stopped provisions that would have barred abortion providers from receiving public funds for other services. It also would have required an increase in inspections of abortion records by health officials.

In another case, the Florida Supreme Court is considering arguments in a challenge to a 2015 law requiring 24-hour waiting periods before woman can obtain abortions.

The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.

Cox Media Group