“This will represent the most important life protections that have been enacted in this state in a generation,” DeSantis said as he signed the bill at an evangelical church in Kissimmee. Republicans nationwide have moved to impose new abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they would ratify a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. The Supreme Court ruling, expected this summer, could potentially weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision of 1973 that introduced a national right to abortion. The law signed by DeSantis on Thursday dealt a major blow to overall access to abortion in the South, where Florida has been given wider access to the procedure by its regional neighbors. The new law, which takes effect on July 1, includes exceptions if abortion is necessary to save the mother’s life, to prevent serious injury, or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow exceptions in cases where pregnancies have been caused by rape, incest or human trafficking, despite many Democrats’ efforts to amend the bill. Under current law, Florida allows abortions for up to 24 weeks. The debate on the proposal became deeply personal and revealing within the legislature, as lawmakers recalled their own abortions and experiences of sexual assault in often tearful speeches in Parliament and the Senate. Republicans have repeatedly called the 15-week ban reasonable, citing state statistics showing that only 6% of abortions in Florida last year occurred after the first trimester or after the 11th week. Democrats rushed to criticize the new law after it was signed. “Politicians have no business between a patient and her doctor,” said Democratic House leader Evan Jen. “This 15-week abortion ban deprives every woman of the right to make personal decisions that should only be made by her, her family, the doctor and their faith.” The legislation came just months after a conservative majority in the U.S. Supreme Court said it would ratify the Mississippi 15-week ban. There has also been substantial support among Conservative judges for Roe’s full acquittal. If Roe is overthrown, 26 states are confident or likely to ban or severely restrict abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank that supports abortion rights. During the debate on Florida law, as well as at the signing ceremony, Republicans said they want the state to be in a good position to restrict access to abortions if the Supreme Court upholds the Mississippi law. “The reality of Roe’s decision is that men in the Supreme Court have declared that women, in order to achieve equality with men, must be able to kill their children,” said Republican lawmaker Erin Grall, the bill’s sponsor. “As a woman, I refuse to accept such a perverted version of equality.” Elsewhere in the United States, Republican lawmakers have introduced new restrictions on abortions, some similar to Texas law that bans abortions after about six weeks and leaves it to individuals. Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt recently signed a bill criminalizing abortion, punishable by up to a decade in prison. Arizona Gov. Republican Doug Duchess signed a law in March banning abortion after 15 weeks if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Mississippi Act.
