BREAKING: Florida judge blocks DeSantis' 15-week abortion ban

On Thursday, a Florida judge issued a temporary statewide injunction in regards to the state’s new abortion law banning the procedure after 15 weeks, which was set to take effect on Friday.

According to Fox 10, Judge John Cooper announced on Thursday that this injunction would not take effect immediately after the decision, but would rather go into effect at 12 am on Friday.

House Bill 5 was passed in March by the state’s legislature, and was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis the following month.

The bill bans abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions being made if termination is necessary "to save the pregnant woman's life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition," or if the fetus has not achieved viability, and has a "fatal fetal abnormality."

Plaintiffs in the case, including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, argued that the law violates the Florida Constitution, which according to Fox 10, "includes a more robust right to privacy clause than the US Constitution."

Abortion has been on the rise in Florida in recent years, with reports from the CDC stating that 79,648 abortions were performed in Florida in 2021. That's up from 74,868 in 2020, and 71,914 in 2019. In 2019, nearly 25% of pregnancies ended in abortion.

The state is reportedly likely to appeal the court’s ruling.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.