Florida adopts law protecting unborn

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 5 at La Iglesia Nación de Fe, a church in Kissimmee, Fla. The law, which is set to take effect July 1, will protect babies from abortion after they have reached 15 weeks of gestation. It does not include an exception for rape or incest, but it does provide an exception if the mother’s life is at risk or if the baby has a fatal abnormality. Both exceptions require consensus from two doctors.

What is Florida’s abortion law status? Under current law, the state allows abortions for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Many women from other states travel to Florida for abortions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida reported 71,914 abortions in 2019, the third-highest rate in the country.  The latest bill comes days after a Tallahassee circuit judge ruled the state can require a 24-hour waiting period before aborting a baby. Pro-abortion groups have promised to challenge the law in court.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in Vitals about Michigan’s governor pushing for the state Supreme Court to establish a right to abortion.