DeSantis signs bill banning abortions after 15 weeks in Florida

Following a bitter debate in the Florida state house, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Thursday banning most abortions in the Sunshine State after 15 weeks.

After signing the bill, the conservative governor told reporters he was defending “those who can’t defend themselves.”

“This will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation,” DeSantis said as he signed the bill at an evangelical church in Kissimmee that serves the Latino community, the Daily Mail reported.

“We are here today to protect life. We are here to defend those who can’t defend themselves. It’s a statement of our values that every life is important,” he added.

The governor signed the legislation amid a new wave of support for pro-life restrictions in Republican states and just two days after Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill effectively making it a felony to perform an abortion in Oklahoma.

The new bill is modeled after a law that recently passed in Mississippi that also bans abortions after 15 weeks. That bill is currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court and pundits believe that the six-member conservative majority will likely uphold the law – a move which would seriously challenge the infamous Roe v. Wade ruling.

The new law will take effect across the state on July 1 and will replace a previous one that allowed abortions until 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

Although pro-choice advocates have said the bill stands to endanger the lives of women, it presently contains exceptions which allow the procedure to be performed if the mother’s life is at risk or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not, however, make exceptions for cases involving rape, incest or human trafficking.

Supporters, on the other hand, have touted the bill as a “milestone victory” for the pro-life movement – a major victory for DeSantis who is widely considered the GOP’s favorite for a White House run in 2024 if former President Donald Trump doesn’t run.

In a statement obtained by the Daily Mail, the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony’s list praised Florida lawmakers for defending women and children.

“Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have delivered a milestone victory for women and children. The legislation enacted today may save more than 3,300 lives a year by protecting unborn children, as well as their mothers, from cruel and dangerous late abortions,” the group’s President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. 

Republican state Sen. Kelli Stargel, one of the bill’s key sponsors, also praised the bill for defending life, saying, “'These are babies. It’s an individual inside that woman that has a separate DNA, a separate body, a separate person.”

“And the question we’re asking ourselves is, when does that baby in the womb have the same rights as the mother that’s carrying it with that right to be able to live and to thrive and to grow?”

A day before signing the bill, DeSantis released a statement outlining the importance of the bill.

"House Bill 5 protects babies in the womb who have beating hearts, who can move, who can taste, who can see, and who can feel pain," DeSantis said on Wednesday.

"Life is a sacred gift worthy of our protection, and I am proud to sign this great piece of legislation which represents the most significant protections for life in the state's modern history."