Here's another step in the right direction from the GOP lawmakers down in Florida.
Currently, Florida has an abortion ban that takes place after 15 weeks, signed into law recently by Governor Ron DeSantis, but DeSantis has indicated that he is more than willing to sign even tougher restrictions into law.
On Tuesday, Florida Republicans are introducing a fetal heartbeat law which would outlaw abortion after 6 weeks when a heartbeat is detectable.
From Politico:
Florida's Republican-led legislature on Tuesday filed bills that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but offer exemptions for victims of rape and incest if they can provide official proof of the crime.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate filed similar legislation to make abortions illegal two weeks after a pregnant person's...
...first missed period, tightening the 15-week ban they approved last year. The measure also seeks to prevent government entities and educational institutions from using public money to financially help people to travel outside the state for an abortion.
This would be short of an outright ban, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.
The proposed 6-week ban already has the support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said during his Tuesday state of the state speech in Tallahassee that "we are proud to be pro-family and we are proud to be pro-life."
He told reporters after his address that he would sign the abortion bill into law.
Republicans have supermajorities in the House and Senate, so Democrats have no ability to stop the legislation from going forward.
As long as all of the Republicans in Florida continue to hold their ground, as they have done with the transgender issue and many other conservative priorities, then the abortion ban will almost certainly go into effect.
And as Lila Rose of Live Action points out, it will affect more than just Florida.
There are very few states in the South, since the Dobbs decision, that allow abortions past 6 weeks (or at all). Florida with its 15-week ban, has been a haven for people to travel for infanticide. This bill would make it harder for that to happen, saving lives as a result.
The abortion proposal is a clear signal that DeSantis will support hard-right conservative priorities ahead of his likely 2024 election bid. Florida, once a perennial swing state, has shifted Republican in recent years and the governor has capitalized on the GOP electoral successes by supporting legislation that cracks down on illegal immigration, bans Florida Medicaid from paying for gender-affirming care and limits how race and gender identity can be taught in schools.
Yes, those "hard-right" policies like not trans-ing little kids, opposing unchecked immigration, and opposing Marxism.
