Florida AG: State law bars Manatee from passing abortion clinic ban
Florida law bars the Manatee County Commission from enacting an ordinance that would ban abortion clinics in the county, according to the Florida attorney general’s office.
“(U)less and until judicially or legislatively determined otherwise, I conclude that the County is not ‘authorized to adopt an ordinance (other than reasonable zoning ordinances) or banning such clinics,’” wrote Charles M. Trippe Jr., general counsel for Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Below is Trippe’s letter to William Clague about whether the county could enact an abortion clinic ban. Clague had made the request on behalf of county commissioners after they voted 4-3 to ask for Moody’s opinion on a proposed ban pushed hard by Commissioner James Satcher.
There currently are no abortion clinics in the county, but Satcher said he wanted a ban to stop any clinics from opening in the future.
In a text message to The Bradenton Journal, Satcher said he did not have any comment on the attorney general’s opinion, “but I most likely will have one by tomorrow.”
At times, the debate over Satcher’s proposal has stopped discussion of other issues, as the commissioner repeatedly pressed his colleagues to state their position on his proposal and as women and other activists protested against a possible abortion ban, sometimes theatrically, in the commission’s chambers and on the streets of downtown Bradenton.
Leading the charge against Satcher’s proposal was the group, Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida.
“Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to send emails to our commissioners,” the group wrote on Facebook. Thank you to EVERYONE who came out to the protests that we organized. Thank you to EVERYONE who came and spoke on-record against this gross over-reach of government authority .
“Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported us through this fight in defense of our autonomous freedom. We are endlessly grateful for you.”
During one discussion, Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, who opposes Satcher’s proposal, revealed that she had had abortion in the early 1970s.
‘Municipalities are not authorized’
Eventually, the commission instructed County Attorney Clague to ask Moody for an opinion on whether local regulation of abortion clinics was legal under state law.
In his response to Clague, Trippe cited a 1985 attorney general’s opinion issued after the city of Ocala made a request similar to Manatee’s. In that opinion, the attorney general concluded state law “preempted the field of regulating and licensing abortion clinics.”
“(M)unicipalities are not authorized to adopt an ordinance regulating … or banning such clinics.”
Changes to the law since 1985 have only broadened the state’s ability to regulate abortion clinics, Trippe wrote.
He advised Clague that Manatee County may want to revisit this issue, pending proposed legislation before the Florida Legislation that might grant local governments the ability to regulate abortion clinics.
You can reach the writer at Marc.R.Masferrer@gmail.com.
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