The Florida Senate voted Thursday in favor of a law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of gestationthe latest in a series of initiatives to restrict access to voluntary terminations of pregnancy in states governed by Republicans in the United States.
The text, which had already been approved in the Lower House of Florida, still has to be endorsed by the state governor, Ron DeSantis, who has already expressed his support for the initiative.
The law reduces the term for women to abort from 24 to 15 weeks of gestation. The only exceptions provided are if the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
The Democratic opposition had tried on Wednesday, without success, to approve amendments so that exceptions will be included in case of rape, incest or human trafficking.
The US president, Democrat Joe Biden, criticized this Friday in a tweet the adoption of a “dangerous law that will significantly restrict women’s access to reproductive health.”
“My Administration Will Fight The Continued Erosion Of Women’s Constitutional Rights”, he added, without using the word “abortion”, which this devout Catholic is reluctant to mention.
The new Florida law mimics a similar text approved in Mississippi, which the US Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, is evaluating after suggesting in December that it would ratify it.
Several Republican-led states hope to take advantage of the high court’s new balance – six conservative judges against three progressives – to restrict or reverse Roe v. Wade, which in 1973 established abortion as a constitutional right until between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The most controversial case was that of Texas, where in September the ban on abortion was approved once the heartbeat of the fetus is detected, that is, after about six weeks of gestation. In that period, most women do not know they are pregnant.
In Florida, and in states like Arizona and West Virginia, Republicans have chosen to follow the law passed in Mississippi as a less extreme alternative to the one in Texas. Its legislators hope that these texts will remain in force if the Supreme Court limits itself to restricting the legal term of abortion.
“This cruel and careless law strips people of the right to control their own bodies and their future” Stephanie Fraim, president of the reproductive health organization Planned Parenthood in Southwest and Central Florida, said in a statement.
The nonprofit American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also joined the criticism.
“This cruel bill will amount to a forced pregnancy for anyone who can’t get the care they need within this arbitrary timeframe.”, assured Kara Gross, director of the organization for Legislative Affairs in Florida. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
