March 8 (UPI) — Florida Republicans have introduced bills in both the state’s House and Senate to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
The parallel bills were introduced Tuesday, and if passed and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis would restrict the current 15-week ban approved last year to six weeks, before when most learn that they are pregnant.
The law will include exceptions for victims of rape or incest, though a restraining order, police report, medical record or other court order must be provided to prove the abortion being obtained is for a pregnancy caused by one of either crimes.
It will also ban the mailing of abortion-inducing medication, ban doctors from using tele-health to perform abortions and stipulate that abortion drugs must be dispensed in person by a physician.
Physicians who violate the law can be charged with a third-degree felony, which is punishable with up to five years’ imprisonment.
DeSantis, a Republican who is anticipated to run for his party’s nomination in the 2024 presidential election, is widely expected to sign the bills into law if they arrive at his desk.
“We are proud to be pro-family and we are proud to be pro-life in the state of Florida,” he told a joint legislative session in the House of Representatives chamber in Tallahassee on Tuesday.
Following his speech, DeSantis told reporters during a press conference that he believes the exceptions included in the legislations are “sensible.”
“Like I said, we welcome pro-life legislation,” he said.
The polarizing governor in April of last year had signed legislation to restrict abortion from 24 weeks to 15, while stating, “We’re here today to defend those who can’t defend themselves.”
Vice President Kamala Harris chastised the proposed ban in a statement as “an attack on freedom.”
“One does not have to abandon their deeply held beliefs to say that the government should not tell people what to do with their bodies,” she said.
The White House on Tuesday also condemned the move, stating it will eliminate “a woman’s right to make healthcare decisions about her own body.”
“This ban would prevent not just the nearly 4 million Florida women of reproductive age from accessing abortion care after six weeks, but it would also impact the nearly 15 million women of reproductive age who live in states across the South with abortion bans and would no longer be able to rely on Florida as an option to access care,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a press conference.
State-level Republicans have been seeking to ban or restrict the controversial medical practice nationwide since the conservative-leaning Supreme Court last June repealed federal protections for abortion when it overturned the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling.
On Tuesday, five women sued Texas over its six-week abortion ban, arguing that despite qualifying for the medical procedure they were denied receiving the healthcare they needed as physicians feared the legal repercussions of doing so.
“Politicians should never be involved in medical decisions between a person & their doctor,” Florida House minority leader Fentrice Driskell, a Democrat, said on Twitter. “Every Floridian deserves the freedom to be healthy, prosperous & safe.”
Pro-abortion organization NARAL President Mini Timmaraju said DeSantis’ support for the bill is “as good a reminder of as any” of what he intends to do if made president, and that she will mobilize her organization’s millions of supporters “to make sure he never gets the chance.”