Restrictions on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, set to take effect in Florida starting April 30 of this year, will severely limit access to this procedure in a state that is one of the most populous in the country.
The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that restricting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy does not violate the right to privacy outlined in the state constitution. This decision paved the way for the law that restricts abortion after six weeks, passed by state legislators last year and supported by Governor DeSantis, to come into effect.
The change in Florida is particularly significant
Florida is one of the last states in the southeastern U.S. where abortion is still widely accessible – providing the service not only to its residents but also to those living in nearby states where abortion has already been limited or banned.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports access to abortion, more than 9,300 people traveled from other states to Florida to have an abortion last year – more than double the number in 2020.
However, of the 80,000 abortions that occurred in the state last year, the majority were performed for Florida residents.
Six-week limit
Of the 16 southern states, nine have banned abortion. Florida will join Georgia and South Carolina with a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. This leaves only three states in this region of the U.S. – Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia – where abortion remains legal after the first trimester, and North Carolina, which has set the limit at 12 weeks.
Many women do not realize they are pregnant six weeks after their last menstrual period, and other states that have enacted laws with this gestational limit for the procedure have seen significant declines in abortion. In Texas, the number of abortions performed within the formal health care system dropped by about half after Senate Bill 8 took effect in 2021, and there were thousands more births than expected the following year. In South Carolina, there was a 70% decrease in abortions just one month after the state imposed a six-week limit for the procedure.
Which states still have legal and protected abortion?
Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Iowa, Montana, and Wyoming – legislators have passed restrictions, but they are currently blocked by the courts
Which states have banned abortion?
Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia.
Which states have restricted abortion by gestational age?
Georgia (6 weeks), South Carolina (6 weeks), Florida (6 weeks), Nebraska (12 weeks), North Carolina (12 weeks), Arizona (15 weeks), Utah (18 weeks).
Source: NBC News