The Florida Houes of Representative passed a bill Wednesday evening that would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks gestation. Similar legislation enacted in Mississippi is currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Florida bill, House Bill 5, was passed by a vote of 78 to 49. It will now move onto the state Senate. The bill prohibits physicians from performing an abortion if they determine the gestational age of the fetus surpasses 15 weeks. Current Florida law allows abortion up to 24 weeks gestation, which is near the end of the second trimester.
After a little more than five hours of debate— the Florida House approves HB 5, which bans abortions after 15 weeks. Exceptions for fatal conditions, not rape, incest, human trafficking. Vote largely along party lines with the GOP majority in favor. pic.twitter.com/SXASz2FLFm
— Forrest Saunders (@FBSaunders) February 17, 2022
Democrats who opposed the bill described it as “unconstitutional” and “offensive” because the bill does not allow exceptions for rape or incest.
After yesterday’s floor session, @FLHouseDems convened a press gaggle to emphasize how amendments to make FL’s 15 week abortion ban were all denied, including those to make the bill less harmful via amendments to exclude rape, incest and human trafficking from the ban. pic.twitter.com/YCLQVM4ODM
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani ?? (@AnnaForFlorida) February 16, 2022
During the House debate on the bill, which lasted around five hours, pro-abortion activists were ejected from the House after they broke into chanting, forcing the chamber to pause before they casted their votes.
Abortion-rights protesters were ejected from the chamber in the Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday whilst they chanted "The people united. We’ll never be defeated." pic.twitter.com/iWHMWq3I4o
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) February 17, 2022
Capitol Police and staff are ordering protesters to exit the House Chamber.
— Jason Delgado (@byJasonDelgado) February 17, 2022
They began chanting as lawmakers readied to vote on the 15-week abortion ban. pic.twitter.com/XsvSnYLKlw
This week, Townhall covered how the Arizona Senate passed a bill prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks gestation. Other states, such as Texas, South Dakota, and Ohio, have introduced other pro-life legislation in recent months.
On Dec. 1, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which surrounds a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi. Dobbs is the first case in decades with the potential to overturn landmark cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. A decision is expected this summer.
Earlier this month, I covered how a Florida teen, “Jane Doe,” won an appeal in district court to speak to a physician and ultimately have a medical abortion without parental consent.
The New York Post reported that Florida state Rep. Dana Trabulsy, a Republican from Fort Pierce, disclosed during the House debate that she once had an abortion.
“This is the right to life and to give up life is unconscionable to me,” Trabulsy said, adding she has “regretted it everyday since.”