- Sen. Erin Grall filed a bill to expand Florida’s 15-week abortion ban to prohibit abortions after a fetal age of six weeks. Exceptions will be made for individuals who are victims of rape or incest.
- Governor Ron DeSantis, a noted supporter of pro-life policy, supported the exceptions and stated that he would sign the updated abortion bill into law.
- The bill also includes a provision that prohibits public funds from being used to transport an individual to another state to receive services intended to terminate a pregnancy and requests $30 million in appropriations to establish parental assistance services to encourage childbirth.
An expansion to Florida’s 15-week abortion ban was filed on Tuesday by Sen. Erin Grall, which seeks to prohibit medical professionals from performing abortions after the gestational age of a fetus is determined to be more than six weeks.
Notably, the legislation includes provisions to allow abortion procedures if the individual is a victim of rape or incest. When asked if he supported the exceptions, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a noted supporter of pro-life policy, gave his approval.
“I think those exceptions are sensible, and as I said, we welcome pro-life legislation,” said DeSantis. He also added that he intends to sign the updated abortion bill into state law.
Grall’s bill also prevents any person, governmental entity, or educational institution from utilizing public funds to transport an individual to another state to receive services that are intended to terminate a pregnancy. The measure further seeks $30 million in appropriations to establish a series of parental assistance services, which, according to the bill, would promote and encourage childbirth through nonmedical material assistance, counseling, and classes regarding pregnancy, among others.
The measure was quickly scorned by Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, who unsuccessfully lobbied lawmakers last year alongside Republican Senate President Kathleen Passidomo to introduce rape and incest exceptions. Though members of the Democratic Party in the state legislature remain ardent in their opposition, the current Republican supermajority in both chambers will make it near-impossible to impede the bill’s progression.
“The health, freedom, and dignity of women, girls, doctors, mothers, and yes — even sexual assault survivors — is about to be stolen, and no over-simplified carve out included to appease Republicans’ guilty consciences is enough to save us,” Book said on Tuesday. “This is it. They have come. And if it’s a war they want, it’s a war they will get. This issue bridges the partisan divide, and we will not go down as easily as they believe.”
DeSantis signed House Bill 5 into law last year, restricting abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy. The bill permitted exceptions in the instance of medical necessity or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality, but did not allow exemptions in cases of rape, incest, or human trafficking.