Florida Heartbeat Bill Advances Through Legislature

Ari Blaff
·3 min read
66
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Florida’s so-called Heartbeat Bill a proposal to ban abortion in the state beyond six weeks gestation, passed through a state House committee hearing on Thursday with the overwhelming support of Republicans.

“It’s a bill that recognizes the importance and value of the life of innocent, unborn human beings,” Republican Representative Jenna Persons-Mulicka, the proposal’s sponsor told the Associated Press. “The bill that’s before you is not solely a reflection of my personal beliefs, but a result of listening in an attempt to build consensus around a policy that supports life.”

State Democrats have acknowledged there is little legislative maneuvering that can be done to thwart the bill’s passage.

“This bill is too restrictive. The amount of paperwork that a woman has to go through to show that they are raped is retraumatizing,” Democratic Representative Robin Bartleman told the AP. “You are going to have the votes, you have a supermajority. There will essentially be an outright abortion ban in the state of Florida.”

“I can do [the] math.”

The new proposal offers exceptions for those at risk of dying from carrying the pregnancy as well as cases concerning rape and incest.

The bill’s introduction comes as an earlier law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis last April to cap abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy faces a legal challenge. That bill permitted exemptions only in the case of life-threatening injuries to the mother or fatal defects in the fetus; no special carve-outs were granted for abortions sought as a result of rape or incest.

The legislation, House Bill 5, was carried through the Florida House at the time with nearly two-thirds of state representatives supporting the motion.

“House Bill 5 protects babies in the womb who have beating hearts, who can move, who can taste, who can see, and who can feel pain,” DeSantis said during a press release at the time. “Life is a sacred gift worthy of our protection, and I am proud to sign this great piece of legislation which represents the most significant protections for life in the state’s modern history.”

However, in January, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of hearing a legal challenge filed on behalf of Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) while rejecting the plantiffs’ request for an emergency injunction blocking the law.

“As Governor DeSantis said, we are better when everybody counts. The Florida Supreme Court denied both of Planned Parenthood’s emergency motions asking the Court to block Florida’s law from taking effect. The Court also accepted jurisdiction of the case and set a briefing schedule. From here, we will continue to defend our pro-life protections,” the governor’s press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in a statement.

The announcement came on the heels of Kamala Harris’s visit to Tallahassee, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, during which the vice-president denounced the “extremists” who passed a “radical abortion ban” last year, referring to the 15-week ban.

“And can we truly be free if so-called leaders claim to be ‘on the vanguard of freedom’ while they dare to restrict the rights of the American people and attack the very foundations of freedom,” Harris added.

The “Heartbeat Bill” must pass through another House committee before being presented to the full chamber.

Previously, Florida state law permitted abortions to be carried out up to 24 weeks, or roughly two trimesters into a pregnancy.

More from National Review