Source: Mark Wallheiser / Getty
Last week, the Florida Senate voted to pass legislation making abortions illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape and incest.
The abortion ban was passed by the state’s House of Representatives last month. Now, it awaits the approval of Governor Ron DeSantis, which he is expected to give, according to The Hill.
The period given to have an abortion in Florida legally is currently is up to 24 weeks. The new ban’s only exceptions include pregnancies where the pregnant person or fetus is at “serious risk.”
The new legislation’s passing not only marks the state’s “strictest” abortion ban to date, but is also paved the way for a slew of proposed amendments to the law that were filed by Florida’s Democratic senators in response.
One of the proposed legislative amendments to the ban asked that fathers start paying child support at 15 weeks — as soon as abortion is no longer an option under the law for mothers carrying their child.
If the paternity of the unborn child is contested, the child support and back payments wouldn’t be enforced by courts until “the biological father was confirmed,” News Channel 8 reports.
Proposed by Tina Scott Polsky [Democrat-Plam Beach], the amendment also includes health insurance coverage for the expectant mother during their pregnancy and related postpartum care needs, the outlet detailed.
Notably, another local news source highlighted that Polsky’s legislative addition to the abortion ban failed to be adopted.
Another amendment filed by state democrats asked that the Department of Health conduct a racial impact study including “a comprehensive review of existing literature on fetal and infant mortality disparities.”
“I represent 10 rural counties where there is not one single OBGYN in the county, so this presents a very undue burden for those living in rural communities,” said Sen. Loranne Ausley on the reasoning behind her amendment.
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Speaking on the state’s recent developments, Terry Sallas-Merritt of Jacksonville abortion clinic Woman’s Choice told Action News Jax, “these amendments highlight the hypocrisy of this abortion ban.”
“I think people are going to start to acknowledge this is a bigger problem than they thought it to be and that there is a slippery slope to having more restrictions, not just on abortion, but perhaps on other of our rights that we consider to be sacred,” Sallas-Merritt added.
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