A Republican state legislator in Florida is seeking to limit access to abortion even further, filing a bill on Tuesday to ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Currently, Florida bans abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy unless the parent’s life is in danger or the fetus has fatal abnormalities, and there are no exceptions for rape or incest, according to NBC News.
The new bill, SB 300 — filed by state Senator Erin Grall (R–Vero Beach) — would shorten that window to six weeks, before many people even realize they’re pregnant. There are exceptions in the bill for victims of rape or incest, though those individuals would have to provide a restraining order, police report, medical record, or “other court order or documentation” to prove they qualify.
State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R–Fort Myers) proposed similar legislation in Florida’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, Politico reports. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers of the state’s legislature.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is expected to announce a 2024 presidential run, said in February he would sign a six-week abortion ban. “We’re for pro-life,” DeSantis said at the time, per WFLA. “I’ve urged the legislature to work, to produce good stuff, and we will sign.”
DeSantis didn’t mention the new legislation in his “State of the State” address on Tuesday, but he did affirm his anti-abortion stance. “We are proud to be pro-family, and we are proud to be pro-life in the state of Florida,” he said during the speech.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, meanwhile, said the proposal would impact millions of women — not just Floridians but women in neighboring states with stricter abortion bans.
“We know that these bans are already having a devastating impact on women’s health,” Jean-Pierre said, per Politico. “Politicians like Governor DeSantis … espouse quote, freedom for all, unquote, while directly attacking the freedom to make one’s own health care decisions. Their rhetoric doesn’t come without consequences here.”
