Earlier this week, the Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional to expect abortion clinics to abide by safety regulations and struck down the Texas law. (Remember when liberals used to say that they were only in favor of “safe, legal and rare” abortions? So much for safe. And rare. Rusty coat hangers it is, I guess.)

On Thursday, a federal judge delivered another devastating blow to the pro-life movement. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle put a hold on key portions of a new Florida law which would’ve restricted taxpayer dollars to clinics that provided abortions as well as increased inspection requirements for abortion clinics.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued his ruling just hours before the law passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature was due to take effect.

 

Planned Parenthood challenged three parts of the law that Gov. Rick Scott signed into law earlier this year, including one that prevents any state or local funds from going to an organization if that organization also provides abortions. Planned Parenthood officials estimated that provision would prevent its clinics from receiving about $500,000 to pay for health care screenings and a school dropout prevention program.

 

 Hinkle in his ruling said the provision is “based not on any objection to how the funds are being spent … but solely because the recipients of the funds choose to provide abortions separate and apart from any public funding.”

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly said that a government cannot prohibit indirectly — by withholding otherwise-available public funds — conduct that the government could not constitutionally prohibit directly,” Hinkle wrote.

Hinkle also blocked enforcement of another part of the new law that would have required an annual state inspection of the medical records of half of all clinic patients, which Planned Parenthood estimated would be about 35,000 people a year. Hinkle did leave intact a provision that redefines dates of gestation and pregnancy trimesters, which could affect when abortions can be performed. Hinkle said he did so because state officials insisted the change would not have any impacts, though Planned Parenthood had argued the change was yet another attempt to limit abortions…. read more here