DeSantis Signs Florida Law to Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks
DeSantis Signs Florida Law to Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks
(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy as other states including Texas and Oklahoma restrict access ahead of a pivotal Supreme Court decision.
The bill was cleared by the state’s legislature last month and effectively reduces the window from the current 24 weeks. While the law leaves a few exceptions for medical emergencies, the Florida Senate had previously rejected amendments that would have allowed women to terminate pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
“We are here today to protect life,” DeSantis, a Republican, said Thursday at a signing ceremony. “This will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation.”
Abortion is becoming one of the most fiercely pitched battles in America’s culture wars after some states, including Texas, have passed laws that make it more challenging for women to terminate a pregnancy. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade before its term ends in June, tougher abortion measures would go into effect in some states.
With DeSantis being widely floated as a potential presidential contender, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature has taken up a number of issues popular with its base voters. Last month, the governor signed a bill that limits instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade, a controversial measure that has drawn criticism from companies including Walt Disney Co.
The new law was criticized by Democrats, with state Senator Annette Taddeo saying the state would be worse off.
“Governor DeSantis has just signed into law an extreme bill that was made even crueler by the rejections to provide exemptions for victims of rape, human trafficking, and incest,” she said in an emailed statement. “The conservative values of freedom and limited government that the Governor claims to fight for, have gone right out the window.”
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