The law banning abortion at 15 weeks’ gestation does not allow exemptions in cases of rape, incest or human trafficking.
The US state of Florida has become the latest place in the United States to pass legislation restricting women’s right to abortion, as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law.
The new law, effective July 1, includes exceptions if abortion is necessary to save a mother’s life, to prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality, but it does not allow exemptions in those cases. Where the pregnancy was caused by rape. , incest or human trafficking.
“It will represent the most important protection for life that has been implemented in this state in a generation,” DeSantis said Thursday, signing the bill at an evangelical church in the city of Kissimi.
The fight over access to abortion is raging in the US, where the Supreme Court is expected to deliver a ruling on the Mississippi case by June, which could see the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling – which ruled a woman’s right to an abortion. Installed – reversed.
Should that happen, more than two dozen US states are set to pass legislation banning abortion, according to an October report from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research group.
Florida’s law is a significant blow to abortion access in the south of the country, where the state has provided wider access to the procedure than its regional neighbors. Under current law, Florida allows abortions up to 24 weeks old.
“Life is precious and children are a God-given gift,” Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez said in a statement shared by DeSantis on Thursday. “Governor DeSantis and I are steadfast in our commitment to protecting the sanctity of innocent human life and protecting the unborn.”
But human rights advocates have said the law is “brutal and dangerous”.
Human Rights Watch researchers urged DeSantis to be vetoed in a statement last month, saying, “The 15-week ban could have a particularly harmful effect on teenagers and youth who are already forced to live in Florida’s parents-to-be. are facing barriers and delays in accessing abortion care due to the father’s consent law.” Legislation.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed an abortion ban into law, threatening the rights, health and dignity of Floridians.
The bill is particularly damaging to young people who already face barriers to abortion care.
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— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) 14 April 2022
“That law requires anyone under the age of 18 to obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian before having an abortion or to endure a potentially painful court process,” he said.
On Tuesday, the state of Oklahoma signed into law a nearly complete abortion ban that is due to take effect in August and makes it illegal to perform an abortion in a medical emergency.
A day later, the Kentucky legislature effectively suspended legal abortion access with its own toughening law. The measure imposes requirements that clinics say are too difficult and expensive to operate, including a provision requiring fetal remains to be cremated or interred.
Abortion rights advocacy groups have said they will challenge Bill in court, and two lawsuits were filed in Kentucky on Thursday, asking a judge to intervene to prevent the law from taking effect until he is prosecuted.
Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy adviser at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, said the state’s abortion ban would “put abortion care out of reach for countless Floridians”, especially the young, those with fewer resources, and those who do not. People live in rural areas.
“Make no mistake: If this abortion ban goes into effect, it will have disastrous consequences for pregnant people, especially those not able to travel out of state to seek essential health care,” Gross said in a statement. Said statement.
“No one should be forced to conceive against her will. We will take swift legal action to protect the rights of Floridians and defend against this brutal assault on their physical autonomy.”
