TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (WSVN) - Proposed bills that would ban abortions after 15 weeks in Florida have become the center of a heated debate among state lawmakers.
In an initial vote held Wednesday afternoon, Florida House representatives showed support for their bill along party lines with a 12-6 vote.
Prior to the vote, a House committee debated the bill, which was filed on the first day of the special session.
“This bill prohibits abortions after 15 weeks, counted from the first day of the last menstrual period,” said Florida State Rep. Erin Grall from Vero Beach.
The bills presented to the Florida House and Senate make no exceptions for rape or incest. One provision would require two physicians to agree on the need for an abortion in the case of fatal fetal abnormalities.
Abortions are currently legal in Florida for up to 24 weeks.
“I think recognizing that this is a baby and, at 15 weeks, those babies have eyelashes and eyebrows and fingers and all of those types of things,” said Florida State Sen. Kelli Stargel. “We want to make sure that, if someone is going to make it a termination, they make it early on in that decision, not later.”
State Rep. Michele K. Rayner from St. Petersburg voiced her opposition to the proposed House bill.
“I believe this bill seeks to strip people of their bodily autonomy and agency,” she said.
Dr. Haywood Brown, a Tampa-based obstetrician, said 15 weeks can be a tricky time in a pregnancy.
“We still have a lot of women who don’t seek care in the first trimester. They’re still in denial,” he said.
Florida joins several states enacting similar legislation restricting abortion to challenge Roe vs. Wade, which legalized the procedure across the country in 1973.
The Florida bills are similar to one from Mississippi that essentially bans abortions at about the sixth week of pregnancy. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on this statute sometime this spring.
Supporters of the bills said they are not about a ban but about maternal health and fetal mortality.
But Rayner, a Democrat, said these are issues Republican legislators only supported once they were tied to abortion.
“When we talk about maternal health, it is really interesting to me that it seems the only time we’re concerned about children, especially Black babies, is when we have a discussion about abortion,” she said.
During the House committee debate, Rayner questioned Grall about the proposed bill.
“When you were drafting this bill or contemplating this bill, was it contemplated that there would be people that would have roadblocks? Whether it’s economic roadblocks, or they don’t have insurance and they’re not able to get a second opinion, what are they to do in this moment?” said Rayner.
“I would say they would not be able to meet the terms of the statute as presented and would not be able to access an abortion at that time,” said Grall.
The public comment portion allowed 30 seconds per speaker.
“Life doesn’t begin at 15 weeks, it begins at conception,” said an opponent of abortion.
“By 15 weeks’ gestation, an unborn baby’s heart will have already beat 16 million times,” said a supporter of the bill. “This is the least we can do: pass this 15-week abortion ban, please, for the sake of these 5,000 children that we need to save.”
Opponents of the bill also spoke during this period.
“This bill is a blatant attack on Floridians’ bodily autonomy,” said one opponent.
“Reproductive freedoms and LGBTQ rights share a foundation in ensuring freedom from governmental intrusion into our most intimate personal decision making,” said another opponent. “Politicians are not medical experts, and our bodies should not be legislated upon.”
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Central Florida Democrat, said the best thing the minority party can do now is ensure the public is informed.
“We can expect this bill to get to the House floor. We’re going to do everything that we can to amplify public opinion,” she said.
There will be two more hearings about the bill in the House and two more in the Senate. If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approves, the new law would go into effect July 1.
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