Florida would join the other six states with the six-week abortion ban: Oklahoma, Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia, North Dakota and Louisiana.

Article by Georgia Simon, Associate News Reporter

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- After Florida passed a 15-week abortion ban with no exceptions last year, Republican lawmakers look to tighten restrictions to six weeks, just two weeks after a pregnant woman would notice the missing menstrual cycle. Florida Republicans filed the legislative bills on March 7th, with full support from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The bill also looks to limit “government entities and educational institutions from using public money to financially help people to travel outside the state for an abortion,” POLITICO said. 

“We are proud to be pro-family and we are proud to be pro-life,” Gov. DeSantis said in a Tallahassee speech on March 7th.

The current 15-week abortion ban is already facing legal troubles as the Florida Supreme Court took on a challenged lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and other Florida abortion suppliers. 

“While we are pleased that the court didn’t shut its door completely, we are dismayed that it has allowed this dangerous ban to remain in effect and to harm real people each and every day until this case is finally decided,”  Whitney White, ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Projects staff attorney, said. 

We hope that the court acts quickly and follows 40 years of precedent and the will of the people to stop this unconstitutional 15-week abortion ban, which has caused chaos and devastation in the state since going into effect in July.”

Republican Florida Senate President, Kathleen Passidomo, and Florida Democratic Leader, Lauren Book, tried to work on getting exceptions added onto last year's 15-week abortion ban. On top of being unsuccessful, Book believes that this new bill will now push republicans and democrats even farther across the aisle.

“This issue bridges the partisan divide, and we will not go down as easily as they believe,” Book said. 

In order to receive the medicalized abortion, there must be proof of the crime including a restraining or a police report. 

Webed inside the bill, enacts $30 Million dollars set aside for the Florida Department of Health in order to start a parenting support system that would run statewide.

POLITICO also stated that “the measure prohibits doctors from using telehealth services to consult with patients about treatment with abortion medications.”

According to the Health Resources and Service Administration, “Telehealth is defined as the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, health administration, and public health.”

The Florida State House approved the bill on Thursday, March 16th and will move onto the Florida State Senate in the coming weeks. Democratic leaders currently have no way to stop the bill as the GOP has a full majority in both the House and Senate.