Florida’s six-week abortion ban has officially been put in place.
Anti-abortion campaigners have celebrated the new legislation, which replaces a law stating that abortion was legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.
A few days ago, The Wall Street Journal published a study demonstrating that U.S. birth rates have fallen to the lowest level since records began in the 1930s – suggesting one incentive among many political interests on behalf of states like Florida.
Up to now, outlier Florida was the last state in the South without a near-total ban, making it a place where women would travel to get their abortions.
As a result, more than 84,000 abortions (half of which were from out-of-state patients) took place in Florida last year – a 12% jump from 2020.
„We don’t want to be an abortion tourism destination”, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said last year.
But the change may be undone as soon as November, when Floridians will vote on a ballot measure known as Amendment 4, which could protect abortion access until around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The ban could be temporary, therefore.
However, the new ban and the looming vote have set up perhaps the highest-stakes abortion fight since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago and rescinded the nationwide right to abortion, the BBC points out.
After that landmark ruling in June 2022, most Republican-controlled states moved to restrict abortion outright or at six weeks gestation – a point at which many women do not yet know they are pregnant.
The new Florida law includes limited exceptions for victims of rape, incest, or human trafficking up until 15 weeks of pregnancy, with patients required to show documentation such as medical records or a police report. It also includes exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities and for the life of the pregnant person.
Pro-life supporters emphasized that the six-week law also includes $30m allocated each year to support pregnant women and new mothers, money that will go towards baby formula, car seats, adoption and parenting classes.
Fox News offers exceptions for rape, incest, and human trafficking up to 15 weeks and further legal carve outs for fatal abnormalities in the fetus and threats to the life of the mother.
But the Associated Press counters: „Dr. Leah Roberts, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist with Boca Fertility in Boca Raton, said the anti-abortion laws being enacted by Florida and other red states are being vaguely written by people who don’t understand medical science. The rules are affecting not just women who want therapeutic abortions, meaning procedures to terminate viable pregnancies because of personal choice, but also nonviable pregnancies for women who want to have babies”.
Therefore, this aspect needs to be clarified – particularly given the fact that the particulars of the new legislation are not readily available online.
„Trump is worried the voters will hold him accountable for the cruelty and chaos he created. He’s right. Trump ripped away the rights and freedom of women in America. This November, voters are going to teach him a valuable lesson: Don’t mess with the women of America”, President Joe Biden said in a statement about the new abortion ban, referring to the fact that Roe v. Wade was overturned during Trump’s mandate.
