Florida restores state abortion ban beyond 15 weeks after temporary halt

After a judge in Florida temporarily halted a state law banning abortions beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy, a state appeal restored the ban on Tuesday.

Judge John C Cooper of an appellate court in Florida’s capital of Tallahassee ruled that the ban in question – enshrined in a bill that Republican lawmakers approved in April – violates privacy protections in the state constitution.

Cooper’s decision temporarily halted the ban, though it had no effect on a ban prohibiting abortions beyond 24 weeks of pregnancy. But the state’s appeal automatically ensured a stay on...