MIAMI.- On Wednesday, May 1, the Florida law, known as “Heartbeat Protection Law”which prohibits interrupting pregnancy after six weeks, a rule that could have a very short duration.
SB 300, passed in 2023, prohibits doctors from knowingly performing or inducing a termination of pregnancy after determining that the gestational age of the fetus is greater than six weekss.
The Heartbeat Protection Law It will replace the current rule that prohibited the interruption of pregnancy after 15 weeks, in force since last July, a year after its approval, since it previously had to overcome several legal challenges.
The new rule only allows abortion after six weeks in cases of rape, incest and human trafficking, as long as the interruption takes place before 15 weeks of pregnancy. Pregnancies can also be terminated with fetuses with malformations incompatible with life and when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger.
In June 2022, the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, arguing that abortion was not a right recognized by the Federal Constitution, and deciding on this matter was a state responsibility. Thereafter, some states chose to restrict the termination of pregnancy.
Florida, the third most populous state in the country, has about 50 clinics where about 84,000 abortions are performed a year, including about 8,000 on women from other states. Before the Supreme Court decision, it was legal to abort up to 24 weeks.
The most curious thing is that the new law could have a very short life. Next November, Florida voters are called to the polls to decide in a referendum whether or not to approve Amendment Four, which would establish the constitutional right to abortion “before the fetus is viable”, that is, until 22 and 24 weeks. For the amendment to the Florida Constitution to be approved, it must obtain 60 percent of the vote and would take effect as of January 2025.
By banning abortion beyond six weeks, Florida joins Georgia and South Carolina. Other states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Idaho, and the two Carolinas, among others, completely prohibit abortion.
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