TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill Wednesday that would ban abortion in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy, about eight weeks earlier than the current standard.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has previously voiced support for the bill.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle questioned the bill’s sponsor, Vero Beach Republican Rep. Erin Grall, for hours at the statehouse chamber Tuesday.
“There are all these decisions from our State Supreme Court interpreting our state constitutional provision of privacy. Is it your position that those decisions are wrong as well?,” asked Fla. Democrat Rep. Ben Diamond, St. Petersburg.
“To the extent that they provide a right to abortion, yes I believe that those decisions are wrong,” Grall said.
Florida currently allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The state bill would prohibit doctors from performing abortions after 15 weeks.
The bill does not make exceptions for rape or incest. There is an exception in cases where a mother’s life is at risk and when there is a fatal fetal abnormality. In those cases, the mother must be cleared by two doctors before getting an abortion.
State data shows there were nearly 74,756 abortions in Florida last year. Six percent were performed in the second trimester, which begins around 13 weeks of pregnancy.
The Senate version of the bill still needs to pass one more committee before it goes to the floor.