Yet another restrictive ban on abortion was signed into law on Thursday, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis approved a piece of legislation that prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exemptions for rape, incest or human trafficking.
The bill goes into effect July 1st.
“We’ve entered a dangerous time for Floridians’ reproductive freedom. In just a few months, thousands of pregnant people in Florida will no longer be able to access the care they need without leaving their state,” Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement. “The supporters of this bill have put their own political ambitions and beliefs before the health and futures of their constituents.”
CNN reports:
The bill makes Florida the latest Republican-led state to advance a 15-week abortion ban bill this session. Additionally, the Kentucky legislature on Wednesday overrode Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a broad abortion bill that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. And in Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed a bill into law that makes performing an abortion illegal in the state, with an exception only in the case of a medical emergency.
The US Supreme Court appears poised to uphold the Mississippi law that bars abortion after 15 weeks. The fate of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, also hangs in the balance, and anti-abortion activists are hopeful that the court’s conservative majority will strike it down.
