Moody files to reinstate Florida’s defunding of Planned Parenthood amid Dobbs decision

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody petitioned a federal court to reinstate a law barring the government’s funds from going to Planned Parenthood.

The law in question – HB 1411 – was passed in 2016 and ensured Florida’s state funds would not go to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and other forms of healthcare for women.

Moody’s office said a court enjoined the 2016 law, citing legal precedent from Roe v. Wade, which has now been overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“In 2016, a district court prevented the Florida Legislature from defunding abortion clinics, based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe,” Moody said.

“Now that the case at the center of the court’s reasoning has been overturned, we are petitioning the court to vacate the court’s injunction and allow the will of our state’s legislative body and the people who elected them to take effect,” she said.

Moody’s office argued the court initially struck down the law because it “indirectly prohibited abortions, which under that ruling was a constitutional right.”

They said the Dobbs ruling clarified there is no right to an abortion.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(5), a court may relieve a party from a final judgment or order where ‘applying it prospectively is no longer equitable.’…As the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized, ‘it is appropriate to grant a Rule 60(b)(5) motion when the party seeking relief from an injunction can show ‘a significant change either in factual conditions or in law.’…In fact, ‘[a] court errs when it refuses to modify an injunction or consent decree in light of such changes.’

Moody’s motion to vacate the court’s injunction

Roe was overturned in June 2022 and resulted in a nationwide wave of conservative attitudes for more pro-life protections.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he believes Florida will “expand” those protections.