Florida Bans Most Abortions After Six Weeks

Florida Bans Most Abortions After Six Weeks

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday banning most abortions after six weeks, hours after the White House called the measure “extreme and dangerous.”

“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in a statement.

The bill bans women from having an abortion in Florida after six weeks of gestation unless the pregnancy endangers the health of the mother, is the result of rape or incest and does not exceed 15 weeks, or the fetus is not viable.

The White House slammed the move, which it said “flies in the face of fundamental freedoms and is out of step with the views of the vast majority” of Americans.

“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,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Thursday.

Florida’s Republican-dominated legislature passed the text hours earlier with 70 votes to 40.

It was the second time in a year that Florida cut the legal term for abortion.

In April 2022, DeSantis signed a bill that reduced it from 24 to 15 weeks, with no exceptions for r3pe or incest.