The Florida state assembly has passed a law banning abortion after the sixth week. The bill has received Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature.
The Republicans have a majority in the state assembly in Florida and will now strongly tighten the right to self-determined abortion.
Florida currently prohibits abortion after 15 weeks, but with few exceptions, the new law prohibits abortion after six weeks.
Exceptions are made where pregnancy is the result of rape and incest, or in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. The bill has been named the Heartbeat Protection Act, and was signed by DeSantis on Thursday evening.
– Signed the Heartbeat Protection Act, which strengthens the protection of life and provides resources to help young mothers and families, tweets he.
Both victory and risk for DeSantis
The new law is seen as a victory for conservative DeSantis, who is aiming to become the Republican presidential candidate in next year’s election.
But the support for the abortion restriction could be a weak point for DeSantis if he were to become the Republican presidential candidate next year. 13 states have banned abortion at six weeks or less, but polls clearly show that most Americans support legal abortion in most cases.
In a poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos this week, 43 percent of voters who consider themselves Republicans said they are less likely to support a candidate who supports curtailing abortion rights.
The White House: Extreme and dangerous
The White House sharply criticizes the ban and describes it as “extreme and dangerous”.
– The ban is in direct violation of fundamental rights, and is out of step with the opinions of a large majority of people in Florida and in the rest of the United States, says spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.
The White House writes that the ban will prevent four million women in Florida from having access to an abortion after six weeks and points out that many then do not know they are pregnant.
– This ban will also affect the almost 15 million women of childbearing age who live in states with abortion bans in the south of the country, many of whom have previously relied on traveling to Florida as an opportunity to get help, it continues.
