A right to privacy was added to the Florida Constitution in 1980 by popular vote. As a result of the decision in Roe, it was commonly understood that the concept of privacy included abortion at the time of the vote. In light of that, and the reasoning in Roe, the Florida Supreme Court found that the Florida Constitution provided protections for abortion above and beyond what could be found in the US Constitution and case law.
But a new Florida Supreme Court, packed with DeSantis supporters, decided that all of the evidence of the public’s understanding of the amendment was unconvincing and overturned the previous decision on Monday. It was an unscrupulous act of raw judicial power. Thomas and Scalia would be proud.
The Florida court probably thinks it immunized itself from criticism by permitting, by the narrowest of margins, the 2024 ballot referendum on abortion rights to go forward. In the press, yes; in my eyes, no.