Federal judge strikes new Florida abortion law

TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge on Thursday permanently blocked parts of a state law passed earlier this year that would have stopped funding to Planned Parenthood clinics around the state after Gov. Rick Scott decided not to pursue further legal action.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle of Tallahassee, who temporarily blocked the law on June 30 hours before it was set to go into effect, issued the brief order without explanation.

Hinkle’s decision was praised by Planned Parenthood leaders from around the state.

“This is a victory for thousands of Floridians who rely on Planned Parenthood," said Barbara Zdravecky, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. "For many people, Planned Parenthood is the only place they can turn to. We may be the only place they can go in their community, or the only place that offers the screening or birth control method they need.  No one should have their basic health care taken away.”

Instead of taking the case to trial and offering additional evidence or legal arguments, attorneys for the Scott administration agreed to forgo further legal action.

The move by the Scott administration greatly sped resolution in the case. The state could still appeal the ruling, but Scott spokesman McKinley Lewis would only say they were reviewing Hinkle's decision. Any appeal could be limited because the state cannot make any new arguments or offer additional evidence.

In the past, the Scott administration has waged lengthy legal fights over other laws supported by the governor.

Florida does not provide any money directly to Planned Parenthood, but the comprehensive abortion law signed by Scott earlier this year would have prevented 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 wrote when he temporarily blocked the law in June that the provision that affected Planned Parenthood 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.

Legislators who passed the law earlier this year said they were doing so in order to protect women's health. Attorneys for the state had argued that Hinkle should let the law stand because there was nothing in it that interferes with Planned Parenthood clinics from performing abortions or burdens "the right of women to undergo abortions."

The Florida law also contains a provision for physicians similar to a Texas law struck down earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Florida case, Planned Parenthood did not challenge these provisions and Hinkle's ruling does not address them, including a requirement that doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital or that clinics have a transfer agreement.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.