Florida Senate passes 15-week abortion ban and sends bill to governor

Florida’s Republican-led Senate on Thursday finally approved a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, bringing the state one step closer to adopting a pregnancy limit currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state House of Representatives, which also has a Republican majority, approved the measure in a party-line vote last month. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, is expected to sign the measure into law.

Passing the bill would significantly limit access to late-term abortions for women in the Southeast United States, many of whom travel hundreds of miles to terminate pregnancies in Florida due to stricter abortion laws in surrounding states.

The state currently allows abortions up to 24 weeks after pregnancy with no mandatory waiting period, meaning a woman can terminate her pregnancy the day she arrives at a clinic.

Florida’s measure, which would take effect July 1, makes exceptions to the 15-week limit only in cases where the mother is at risk of death or “irreversible physical impairment,” or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.

In a session on Wednesday, Republicans rejected an amendment that would have made exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking.