DeSantis to Sign 15 week Abortion Ban

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)
photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

On March 3, Florida's Senate passed a bill that would prohibit abortion after 15 weeks gestation. The bill had already passed the Florida House, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled his intent to sign it into law "in short order."

Florida's legislation includes two very stringent exceptions.

The first exception can occur when “the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.”

The second exception can occur if two doctors certify that the child has a "fatal fetal abnormality" that would "in reasonable medical judgment, regardless of the provision of life-saving medical treatment, is incompatible with life outside the womb and will result in death upon birth or imminently thereafter."

Republican lawmakers rejected an amendment to the bill that would have created exceptions for incest, rape, and human trafficking. Sen. Kelli Stargel, the bill's sponsor, argued that it would be wrong to include such an exception. She argued that a child should not “be killed because of the circumstances in which it was conceived.”

President Biden responded the following day in a tweet, writing, “My administration will not stand for the continued erosion of women’s constitutional rights.”

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