TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) _ A state Supreme Court order blocking enforcement of Florida's 24-hour abortion waiting period will remain in place while a lower court determines whether the law is constitutional.
The Florida Supreme Court issued its ruling Thursday, leaving in place its order from 10 months ago. The court said there's a strong likelihood that a lower court will determine the law is unconstitutional and the state provided no evidence that the law addresses a compelling state interest. Gov. Rick Scott signed the waiting period into law in 2015 and it was quickly blocked by a lower court after the ACLU sued. But an appeals court lifted the injunction a year ago and the law was in effect until the Supreme Court temporarily blocked it two months later.