Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Law Banning Abortion After Six-Weeks
The Heartbeat Protection Act was signed into law on Thursday, April 13, by Florida Governor and 2023 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, only hours after it passed the Florida legislature.
A baby heartbeat can be found as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, and the new law increases protections for unborn infants by granting them full rights to life at that point. Additionally, it offers financial support to mothers all around the state.
DeSantis posted a picture of himself signing the Heartbeat Protection Act at his governor’s desk on Twitter on Thursday. The measure “expands pro-life protections and dedicates resources to help young mothers and families,” he wrote.
DeSantis is surrounded by lawmakers and pro-life activists in the picture.
Opponents of the law argue that by the time most women find out they’re pregnant, it will already be too late to have an abortion.
Earlier in the day, the Florida legislature passed the Heartbeat Protection Act, or SB 300, which establishes protections for unborn babies with a heartbeat beginning at six weeks’ gestation.
The new law also allocates $25 million in funds for pregnancy centers around the state. The money is expected to help women during their pregnancy and after the child is born.
After the heartbeat bill passed the Florida legislature, the White House issued a statement critical of the “extreme and dangerous” legislation.
“Today, Florida’s Republican supermajority-controlled legislature sent an extreme and dangerous new abortion ban to Governor DeSantis’s desk for signature. The ban flies in the face of fundamental freedoms and is out of step with the views of the vast majority of the people of Florida and of all the United States,” White House press secretary Karine-Jean Pierre said in a statement.
“This ban would prevent four million Florida women of reproductive age from accessing abortion care after six weeks – before many women even know they’re pregnant. This ban would also impact the nearly 15 million women of reproductive age who live in abortion-banning states throughout the South, many of whom have previously relied on travel to Florida as an option to access care.”
The legislation allows exceptions to save the life of the woman or for cases of rape or incest until 15 weeks of pregnancy.