Florida Senate Takes Up 15-Week Abortion Ban Bill
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – A bill that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy is being taken up by the Florida Senate Monday.
The Florida House approved the bill Thursday.
The 15-week ban includes no exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking.
The only exclusions are if a mother's life is in danger or the fetus has fatal abnormalities, and both exceptions have to be approved by two doctors.
According to the Agency for Health Care Administration, more than 79,000 abortions were performed in Florida last year.
Of those, 94% were performed in the first trimester, meaning through the end of the 11th week of gestation, a large majority that Florida's proposed bill wouldn't touch.
Last year, just under 500 second-trimester abortions were performed due to a serious genetic defect. Twenty-one were performed due to a life endangering physical condition. Fourteen were performed due to rape. Three were performed due to incest.