Following a recent bill in Mississippi that appears to be in line for approval, Florida gears up to make what those who advocate for the right to choose say is a necessary facet of reproductive healthcare inaccessible to many in the south.
The Florida Senate is sending a 15-week abortion ban bill to the desk of conservative Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The proposed ban would bar anyone from receiving an abortion after 15 weeks, with no allowances for those who became pregnant after rape, incest, or human trafficking.
Currently, Florida allows abortions until 24 weeks, with fewer restrictions than other southern states. Because of this, residents of nearby states have previously opted to travel to Florida to bypass their state's restrictive laws and receive reproductive healthcare.
The bill passed last month in the House, and passed in the Senate late Thursday night by a 23-15 party-line vote in favor of Republican Senate members.
Florida’s bill appears similar to that of West Virginia and Arizona, which have fashioned restrictive abortion bans to mirror Mississippi’s 15-week ban that made it to the Supreme Court and is set to be voted on later this year.
According to the New York Times, the court is set to uphold the new bill, which would render abortion services inaccessible to many who say they need them.
Other states have opted for even further restrictions, such as Texas’ ban on abortion after 6 weeks.
According to the University of California San Francisco's Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANIRH), 1 in 5 people discover their pregnancies after 7 weeks, with rates of later discovery being higher among young people, people of color and those living with food insecurity.
If the court votes in favor of the ban, it would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that makes banning abortion before 23 weeks — or the point of “fetal viability” — unconstitutional.
DeSantis has signaled his support for the new bill, according to The New York Times.
