New Florida abortion limit ‘will hit women across South’

‘Politicians like Desantis espouse freedom for all while attacking freedom of health care choices’

FLORIDA could outlaw abortions after six weeks under Republican-backed laws which would severely limit access to the procedure in southern states.

More than a dozen US states banned abortion entirely after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year, and women from across the South have been travelling to Florida, where abortion is currently legal until the 15th week of pregnancy.

However, new bills filed in the Florida state legislature would outlaw abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape and incest, but not explicitly for the life or health of the woman.

Ron Desantis, the state governor, who is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, said he supported “pro-life legislation” when asked about the new bill, and thought the rape and incest exceptions were “sensible.”

The proposed law would ban abortion at a stage before many women know they are pregnant.

Mr Desantis has previously said he would sign into law an abortion ban as early as six weeks, but this appears to be contrary to what his constituents want.

A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found 64 percent of Florida residents believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

The six-week rule would mirror that of neighbouring Georgia.

In Alabama, which also shares a state border with Florida, abortion is banned with no exceptions for rape or incest. Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma have all also banned abortion. Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration data shows the number of outof-state abortion patients rose 38 per cent in 2022 compared with 2021.

Fentrice Driskell, leader of the Democratic House minority in Florida, said the bills would make “all abortions impossible” and adversely affect people from all over the South who would have looked to Florida for abortion access.

“Politicians like Governor Desantis espouse ‘freedom for all,’ while directly attacking the freedom to make one’s own health care decisions,” said Karine Jean-pierre, the White House press secretary.