SW News: Governor Ron DeSantis of the American state of Florida has signed legislation banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, making it the latest state to severely restrict the procedure since the reversal of Roe v. Wade last year. "We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida," said the governor after signing the Heartbeat Protection Act into law.

The six-week abortion ban received final approval from Florida's House of Representatives on April 13 by a vote of 70 to 40. The measure passed the state Senate with a vote of 26-13 on April 3. Before, Florida prohibited abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.The law contains exceptions allowing abortions in rape and incest situations. In such cases, the women have to submit medical reports and the police report. In addition, termination of pregnancy is allowed when the mother's life or health, excluding psychological health, is in grave danger.

The law would also forbid doctors from prescribing an abortion through telemedicine and mandate that prescriptions for the procedure must be given in person by a doctor rather than by mail.The bill introduced by Erin Grall reiterated a medically debatable assertion that baby heartbeats could be heard as early as six weeks of pregnancy, defending the proposal.

However, the law will take effect only if the state's 15-week restriction is sustained in an ongoing legal dispute before the state Supreme Court. For the ban to take effect, the SC has to completely overturn or alter its current precedent, which ensures a right to abortion based on the right to privacy guaranteed by the state Constitution.