15-week abortion bill one signature away from becoming law in Florida - WFLA
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A controversial bill that bans abortions after 15 weeks is now one signature away from becoming law in Florida.
House Bill 5 passed the state Senate late Thursday night by a vote of 23-15 along party lines with all Republicans voting in favor.
The Florida bill contains exceptions if the abortion is necessary to save a mother’s life, prevent serious injury to the mother or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. The state currently allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
At a news conference on Friday Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about his support for the measure.
“These are protections for babies that have heartbeats that can feel pain and this is very very late, so I think when you’re talking about late-term, that’s one thing. I think the protections are warranted and I think we’ll be able to sign that in short order,” he said.
“This is a great victory for the pro-life movement. We think adoption is always the better option. And we need to love children not kill them,” said John Stemberger, President and General Counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council.
The bill has sparked an emotional debate. Physicians have weighed in, saying the bill would have devastating impacts.
“This is a bad day for women’s health. This is very private, personal decisions for women to make with their physicians and with her family. It doesn’t belong in the legislature,” said Dr. Katherine Sutherland, a retired OBGYN in Winter Haven. “Doctors understand the real-life situations that happen unexpectedly after 15 weeks and and the legislators just can’t imagine.”
President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida Stephanie Fraim said the bill will cause people to seek abortions out of state. She said the organization does not support the bill but will make sure women are safe.
“We will develop programs that will help patients get to other states so that they can get the care that they need,” said Fraim.
The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. DeSantis where he is expected to sign it into law.
source: https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/15-week-abortion-bill-one-signature-away-from-becoming-law-in-florida/
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