Florida - Thursday April 13, 2023: Less than a year after passing a law banning abortions after 15-weeks, lawmakers in the Florida House passed a 6 week ban Thursday afternoon. The companion 6-week ban in the Senate, SB 300, was approved by the upper chamber last week. Governor DeSantis quickly signed the measure into law Thursday evening.
“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” said Governor DeSantis. “I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”
During debate in the House Thursday on Florida House Bill 7 Republican lawmakers rejected nearly 50 amendments proposed by Democrats. The final vote was 70 to 40. A number of Republican representatives crossed party lines to join Democrats voting against it.
“Today, the Florida House stood up for the lives of unborn," said House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) in a news release.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell tweeted - "DeSantis signed the extremist 6-week abortion ban into law just before 12 am, hoping Floridians won’t notice he stripped away a right most people agree with. Retweet & amplify. If we don’t want FL’s present to become America’s future, we must stop him in ‘24."
The new law however may not go into effect if the Florida Supreme Court concludes that the current 15-week ban violates the state constitution's guarantee of a right to privacy.