Florida’s Governor is speaking out in defense of Florida’s strictest abortion law in history, and defending “exceptions” put in to the six-week ban as the Legislature acceding to the popular will.
During an CNN interview Thursday, Ron DeSantis was asked about 2023’s Heartbeat Protection Act, a bill that bans abortion early in gestation except in cases of rape, incest, and other outlier issues difficult to adjudicate that early in pregnancy. Those situations would allow abortions up to the 15th week of pregnancy.
“But those exceptions are in law. I know those are issues that a lot of people have strong feelings about. And so I signed the legislation with those exceptions in law: rape, incest, life of the mother, victims of human trafficking, as well as the really terrible situations where you have the fetal abnormality. So that is what I think the people wanted and that was what the law reflects,” DeSantis said.
“Those are exceptions that have been talked about for many, many years And the legislature put those in very carefully and yes, of course, I think they’re reasonable,” DeSantis added.
Asked about the previously ratified 15-week ban, which lacked exceptions, DeSantis didn’t explain why it was necessary to tighten the law twice in two years. He instead noted that “the reason why it wasn’t is because there was no reason required at all for up to the 15 weeks.”
“And so that’s why they didn’t put it in when you’re talking about a heartbeat. It’s just a different, there’s a prudential judgment that the legislature is making. But I’ve said I support exceptions and would support exceptions.”
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