The Grind:
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Thursday banning late-term abortions after 15 weeks gestation.
The Details:
The law, HB 5, allows exceptions when the mother’s life is at risk or in danger of “irreversible physical impairment,” or if the unborn baby has a fetal abnormality, such as Down Syndrome. It does not offer exceptions for rape.
“These are protections for babies that have heartbeats, that can feel pain,” DeSantis said of HB 5 in March, when he signaled he would sign the legislation. “And this [15 weeks] is very, very late. And so I think the protections are warranted. And I think that we’ll be able to sign that in short order.”
The Florida governor signed HB 5 as pro-life activists and Republican lawmakers push for officials to investigate the abortions of five preemie-sized babies that activists say they intercepted outside a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic. Read more…