4/13/23, 9:11 pm: Lawmakers in the Florida House passed a bill Thursday that would protect most preborn children from abortion after six weeks gestation. The measure, which was previously passed by the Senate, now heads to the desk of Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it.
HB 7 prohibits abortion after six weeks, though it does contain exceptions for certain situations, such as when the woman’s life or health is at risk and in cases of rape or incest, under certain conditions. It passed the House with a 70-40 vote, with seven Republicans joining Democrats in voting against the bill. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Democrats opposed to the bill introduced as many as 50 amendments in an attempt to slow the bill’s passage, but they all failed.
Some who opposed the bill claimed its passage would put the lives of women at risk, though the bill contains provisions to allow abortion to save a woman’s life or “avert a serious risk of imminent, substantial, and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.”
“We have got to stop imposing our personal beliefs on other people and do what’s right for people,” said Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa. “Illegal abortions will be on the rise, and we will return to some very, very dark ages where people will die as a result of their inability to get a legal abortion.”
The bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka pointed out that nothing will prevent the mother from getting the medical attention she truly needs. “Nothing in this bill or current law will prevent a woman whose health or life is at risk from seeking an abortion,” she said. “If anyone tells you differently, they are misinformed.”
As Live Action News has previously explained, there is a difference between a medical procedure that indirectly ends the life of a preborn child, and an induced abortion, which is the direct and intentional killing of a human life.
“Here in the state of Florida, we care deeply about life,” said bill co-sponsor Rep. Jennifer Canady, “and we care about the very most vulnerable in our society: babies in the womb.”
“For the past 50 years, we’ve had a culture grow in this nation — a culture of abortion for any reason at any time,” Persons-Mulicka said. “Today we lead. Today we stand for life. We stand with mothers, and we stand with Florida families. And by your vote today, we change the culture of abortion to a culture of life.”
If DeSantis does sign the bill, it is unclear when it will go into effect, as it is contingent on whether or not the Florida Supreme Court upholds the state’s current 15-week abortion law, which is in the middle of a legal challenge.
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