The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has signed Thursday a federal law to ban abortion in his state from the sixth week of pregnancy, qualifying as a third-degree felony the help that any medical professional can give to bypass this prohibition.
The law — which he has called the «Heartbeat Protection Act» — has already passed through the Florida Congress, with a large Republican majority, and its entry into force still depends on the Supreme Court ruling on a previous prohibition by the Republican governor, who last year limited abortion to before the 15th week of pregnancy.
Under the new law, only victims of rape, incest or trafficking will be allowed abortions after 15 weeks, provided they can show a restraining order, police report or other evidence.
Both the opposition, which has argued that before the sixth week of pregnancy it is very difficult to be aware of it, and the White House, which before DeSantis signed the rule and after knowing the decision of the Florida House called it »extremely dangerous».
Also the Vice President, Kamala Harris, has spoken out upon learning of the first decision of the Florida Republicans: »Let’s be clear: this law would deny Florida women access to basic health services. These so-called leaders cannot claim to advocate for freedom while taking away women’s ability to make decisions about their own bodies».
Before achieving a Republican majority in its Congress, Florida was considered a destination for many women from neighboring states with even stricter bans, CNN reports, because of its comparatively advanced legislation on the matter.
Florida is one of the leading Republican states in the growing conservative push to repeal abortion rights in the country, which began when the Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned legal precedent allowing termination of pregnancy since 1973.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
