Thursday, Florida Governor Ron Desantis signed a bill that will ban most abortions after 15 weeks.
House Bill 5, known as Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, marks a significant blow to abortion access in the South. Until this new law, Florida has offered wider access to abortions than its other southern neighbors. North Carolina will now become the only southern state to permit an abortion after 15 weeks.
The new bill, which will go into effect July 1, contains exceptions if the abortion is necessary to save a mother’s life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow for exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest, or human trafficking. Current Florida law allows abortions up to 24 weeks.
“We are here today to defend those who can’t defend themselves,” DeSantis said, appearing at an event at a church in Kissimmee. “This will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation.”
House Bill 5’s signing comes ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could limit abortion access nationwide.
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