Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the Center for Reproductive Rights are suing the state of Florida to block the state’s 15-week abortion restriction.
Earlier this year, the Florida House and Senate passed HB 5, or “Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality.” The bill was then signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in April. The new law restricts abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions in the law if a mother’s life is at risk (read more here on why abortion is not necessary in such cases) or for a “fatal fetal abnormality” diagnosis.
“We are here today to protect life. We are here today to defend those who can’t defend themselves,” DeSantis said upon signing the bill, adding, “This is a time where these babies have beating hearts, they can move, they can taste, they can see, they can feel pain, they can suck their thumbs, and they have brain waves. This will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state for a generation.”
On Facebook, Planned Parenthood announced its lawsuit, along with a reminder that abortion is still legal in the state of Florida.
“We’re suing to block Florida’s 15-week abortion ban from taking effect on July 1,” their post read. “Not only does it violate the state’s constitution, but it will force Floridians to remain pregnant against their will, violating their dignity and bodily autonomy. We will never stop fighting to get our patients the care they need.”
Planned Parenthood claims this is an issue of bodily autonomy, but the inherent problem is that abortion doesn’t target the mother’s body. It targets the body of a genetically distinct, living, growing human being.
Abortions committed after 15 weeks of pregnancy in particular are violent procedures, during a time when preborn children can almost certainly feel pain. The reality is that abortion is never medically necessary, and there is no “right” to take another human being’s life. Autonomy involves actions against one’s own body — not someone else’s, and it is a scientific fact that a preborn child is a distinct human being from the moment of fertilization.
The text of the lawsuit can be read here.
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