Florida has become an “abortion destination” state, thanks to a 1989 decision by an activist court, which twisted Florida’s Constitution in order to allow a minor child to get an abortion without her parents’ consent.  

Liberty Counsel is fighting back. Yesterday, Liberty Counsel and our sister organization Liberty Counsel Action filed briefs with the Florida Supreme Court fighting to protect the lives of the unborn who cannot fight for themselves. This case could mirror what happened at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Give a voice to the unborn who cannot fight for themselves by donating to Liberty Counsel’s legal fund today! A special Challenge Grant will DOUBLE THE IMPACT of every donation made today. Please help, then read on for the news. —Mat

For decades, tourists have come to Florida for our sandy beaches and a visit with a cartoon mouse. But thanks to a rogue 1989 state Supreme Court decision known as In re T.W., Florida is now an “abortion destination” state, where babies can be killed at will.

In 1980, the Florida Constitution was amended to include Article I, § 23, which states that Floridians are entitled to privacy from government intrusion into their personal documents. In 1989, the rogue Florida court twisted this provision in order to allow a pregnant unwed minor to get an abortion without her parents’ consent.

Back in 1989, as Liberty Counsel was just launching, I also served as general counsel for Florida Right to Life. As such, I co-wrote an amicus brief to the Florida Supreme Court urging a correct interpretation of Article I, § 23 of the Florida Constitution.

The text, history, and early interpretations of the amendment show that it was intended by the People of Florida only to protect personal informational privacy. The court’s extension of the amendment to cover abortion is contrary to the original meaning of the text.

While Roe v. Wade ended abortion federally, many states also moved to protect the unborn — including Florida, which enacted a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, and where Gov. Ron DeSantis will soon sign into law a “heartbeat” bill to ban abortion after 6 weeks.

But the bloodthirsty abortion movement cannot stand the thought of children surviving the womb. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are trying to pull out the Florida Supreme Court’s wrongful 35-year-old decision to protect their baby-killing operations.

This week, our sister organization, Liberty Counsel Action, filed an amicus brief advising the court as to how the 1989 court’s decision failed both Article I, § 23 intention, as well as proper jurisprudence.

Properly understood, Art. I, § 23 applies only to informational privacy and was intended to protect citizens from government intrusion into their private data and information. The amendment was not intended to be open season on children. The In re T.W. holding to the contrary should be overruled.

Liberty Counsel also filed a brief before the Florida Supreme Court representing the Frederick Douglass Foundation, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and a score of other groups representing the interests of minorities and people with “disabilities.”

As you may recall, we filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs case highlighting the racist and eugenic underpinnings of the abortion movement, and the High Court cited to our brief in overruling Roe v. Wade.  

Our powerful brief exposed the ugly truth about Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood, and the abortion movement as a whole by demonstrating that abortion was designed to eliminate certain races and classes of people.

As we explain in our brief before the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s 15-week abortion ban was enacted, in part, to protect vulnerable communities from genocidal social policies that have devastated their communities ever since Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger first espoused killing and forcibly sterilizing the black, brown, poor, and disabled people she and her eugenic friends called “undesirables” and “human weeds.”

The genocide continues today … and it must end on our watch!

According to one peer-reviewed study, “black women have been experiencing abortions at a rate nearly four times that of white women for more than 30 years.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s most recent data, black women accounted for 33.6% of all reported abortions in 2018, even though they make up 13% of women in the United States.

And in Mississippi, which brought Dobbs to the U.S. Supreme Court, 72% of abortions were performed on black women in 2018, compared to just 24% on white women and 4% on women of other races.

LIFE IS PRECIOUS. It matters not whether that tiny human life has dark brown, tawny yellow, or pink skin, nor does it matter if they are disabled, deformed, or simply poor; they are all God’s children and deserve our love, care, and protection. They do not deserve to be carved up with an abortionist’s knife and their tiny body parts sold to the highest bidder.

The Dobbs ruling decided that there is NO constitutional right to abortion, but this Florida case proves our fight is far from over. Every military general knows the most dangerous time is upon taking new ground. The enemy will fight harder than ever. Such is the case in this new “post-Roe” world where the multibillion-dollar abortion industry and its rabid pro-death supporters are determined to keep killing the unborn.

Liberty Counsel WILL NEVER STOP fighting for the right to LIFE.

Please help us continue the fight for the unborn on the state level. Every donation made today will be DOUBLED IN IMPACT by a special Challenge Grant. Please, give generously today!

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

Sources:

“Florida Amendment 2, Constitutional Right of Privacy Measure (1980).” Ballotpedia. Accessed April 11, 2023. Ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amendment_2,_Constitutional_Right_of_Privacy_Measure_(1980).
 
“In the Supreme Court of the United States.” Liberty Counsel. Accessed June 29, 2022. Lc.org/PDFs/Attachments2PRsLAs/07262119-1392DobbsvJackson_AmiciBriefInSupportofPetitioners.pdf.

“SCOTUS Overturns Roe v. Wade.” Liberty Counsel, June 24, 2022. Lc.org/newsroom/details/062422-scotus-overturns-roe-v-wade.