A federal judge has temporarily upheld Florida Gov Ron DeSantis’ decision to suspend a liberal prosecutor who refuses to uphold Florida’s 15-week abortion ban.
DeSantis suspended Soros-backed state attorney Andrew Warren for refusing to enforce the pro-life law he signed earlier this year. The pro-life governor signed the late-term abortion ban back in April, which could save as many as 5,000 babies from aboritons every year.
“The constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the governor, not in state attorneys,” DeSantis said last month after the suspension. “We are not going to allow this pathogen of ignoring the law get a foothold in the state of Florida.”
He said Warren has repeatedly tried to install himself as an adjudicator of what laws will and will not be enforced.
Today, a federal judge declined to strike down the decision –ruling Monday not to reinstate Andrew Warren while the prosecutor’s case challenging DeSantis’ firing of him moves forward. Forbes has more on the ruling:
U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled during a hearing Monday not to grant Warren’s request for a preliminary injunction that would reinstate him as state attorney, local outlets report, but the case is still ongoing.
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Warren sued DeSantis (R) after the governor suspended him on August 4 and replaced him with his own appointee, accusing Warren of “neglect of duty” and “spit[ting] in the face of voters” because he signed statements saying he wouldn’t prosecute crimes related to abortion or gender-affirming care.
Hinkle wanted to “settle the issue ‘once and for all’” through a trial rather than potentially reinstating Warren now only to remove him again later, the Tampa Bay Times reports, and Florida Politics reports the judge “didn’t appear convinced” by the governor’s case, suggesting he could still side with Warren.
Warren’s legal team wants the case to go to trial within a month, while DeSantis’ team wants the case to proceed in three to four months, the Times reports. Hinkle has not yet set a final trial date.
Warren was the only prosecutor in Florida to sign a letter vowing not to prosecute abortionists who kill babies in violation of the late-term abortion ban.
“We are suspending Soros-backed 13th circuit state attorney Andrew Warren for neglecting his duties as he pledges not to uphold the laws of the state,” DeSantis’ office said in a statement at the time of the suspension.
When DeSantis signed the 15-week law, the governor said the bill “protects the rights of unborn children starting at 15 weeks. This is a time where these babies have beating hearts. They can move, they can taste, they can see, they can feel pain, they can suck their thumb, and they have brain waves.”
“Life is a sacred gift worthy of our protection, and I am proud to sign this great piece of legislation which represents the most significant protections for life in the state’s modern history,” he said.
“So this will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation.”
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, some Democrat district attorneys and prosecutors are saying they will not uphold or enforce various pro-life laws or abortion bans and DeSantis’ move could be the first in a long line of decisions to remove them or limit their powers for not protecting babies and enforcing the law.
As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.
Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.
Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.
Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.
Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
Despite false reports that abortion bans would prevent doctors from treating pregnant women for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, pro-life doctors confirm that is not the case. Some 35 states have laws making it clear that miscarriage is not abortion and every state with an abortion ban allows treatment for both.
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