Black day for abortion rights in the United States: After a federal appeals court on Thursday, April 13 restricted the use of the abortion pill (while authorizing it), Florida decided to prohibit voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) beyond six weeks of pregnancy.
The White House immediately denounced this new provision as "extreme and dangerous". "Today, the Republican-dominated Florida legislature sent an extreme and dangerous new law to Governor DeSantis' desk for him to sign into law," U.S. executive spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre blasted. , in a press release.
Approved by 70 votes in favor and 40 against by the elected officials of this state in the south-east of the country, the law must indeed be signed by the rising star of the American populist right and possible contender for the White House, Ron DeSantis, who has already indicated its intention to enact it.
The entry into force of this ban will make Florida one of the states that restricts abortion the most without banning it, since the American Supreme Court, dominated by conservative judges, canceled in June 2022 the constitutional protection. of abortion on the territory, leaving the various States free to legislate.
Exceptions in case of rape or serious health risk
The only exceptions considered by Florida law are those of "serious risk" to the woman's health or fatal fetal abnormality, as well as rape or incest, to the extent fifteen weeks of pregnancy.
“This law prohibits legal abortion, but it will not stop abortion in practice. Abortions will simply be performed in private, without medical supervision and with increased risk to women's health and physical and mental well-being,” Florida Democrat Lindsay Cross said. Florida had already banned abortion in April 2022 after fifteen weeks of pregnancy.
This law also signs a new resounding victory for opponents of abortion in the United States, at a time when the future of the abortion pill is threatened, after restrictions on access to this stamp decided on Thursday by an appeals court of Louisiana, in the conservative South.
This imposed a number of conditions on the distribution of mifepristone, banned last week by a judge in Texas: three visits to the doctor, an authorization limited to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, and a ban on sending the pill by mail. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the executive intends to "continue to fight in court", taking the case to the Supreme Court.
