DeSantis Will Expand Florida’s Restrictions on Abortion Access

Last April, the governor took the first step to restrict abortion in the state by signing a 15-week abortion ban.

Think abortion is protected in Florida? Think again. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to expand the state’s restrictions on abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday.

“The prayers of millions have been answered. For nearly fifty years, the US Supreme Court has prohibited virtually any meaningful pro-life protection, but this was not grounded in the Constitution’s text, history or structure,” DeSantis wrote in a short statement that he shared on Twitter. “Florida will continue to defend its recently enacted pro-life reforms against state court challenges, will work to expand pro-life protections, and will stand for life by promoting adoption, foster care and child welfare.”

Last April, the governor took the first step to restrict abortion in the state by signing a 15-week abortion ban, which doesn’t grant exceptions for rape, incest, or human trafficking victims.

The legislation is supposed to go into effect on July  1, however it faces two lawsuits in court. One is from Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, which argue that the ban violates a broadly written privacy right in the state Constitution. The second lawsuit is from a Florida synagogue that says the governmental intrusion violates Jewish women’s privacy rights and religious freedoms.

DeSantis didn’t give details on how he would seek to further restrict abortion access in the state, but the governor or Florida’s GOP-controlled House and Senate could seek to pursue more prohibitions during next year’s legislative session, as some lawmakers expressed previously. For example, state Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-Deltona) has said he intends to sponsor a measure that would ban all abortions in Florida. 

Meanwhile, Democrats like Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-47) and abortion rights advocates said they will keep fighting.

“Remember: Florida’s 15-week abortion ban is set to go into effect on July 1st unless a judge grants injunctive relief via the filed lawsuit(s) and even then the state could appeal. We will keep fighting no matter what, “ Eskamani wrote on Twitter.