TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would sign a six-week abortion ban if and when it came to fruition during a news briefing Wednesday discussing the proposed “Framework for Freedom” 2023-24 state budget.
“We’re for pro-life. I urge the legislature to work, produce good stuff, and we will sign,” DeSantis said.
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At a news conference focused on toll relief back in December 2022, the governor further spoke about how he’s “willing to sign great life legislation.”
“That’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” said DeSantis, in reference to hardening abortion restrictions in the state.
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Previously, Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-Deltona) filed a similar anti-abortion bill titled the “Florida Heartbeat Act” back in September 2021. House Bill 167, which died in session, prohibited physicians from performing or inducing abortion if a fetal heartbeat was detected or if a physician failed to conduct a test to detect fetal heartbeat.
This comes after DeSantis signed into law a statewide ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. This went into effect July 2022, despite subsequent legal battles playing out. Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper had initially issued a temporary injunction to block the law, finding that it violated the Florida Constitution, before courts tossed out the ruling.
The law has since been kept in place by the Florida Supreme Court, despite a case filed against it by seven abortion clinics and a doctor.
Opponents of stricter abortion regulations have vocalized their concerns in courts and protests across Central Florida and the nation.
“Make no mistake: peoples’ health care and lives are on the line,” said Dr. Sujatha Prabhakaran, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.
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