(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Florida’s recently introduced ban restricting abortion to no farther than the 15th week of pregnancy seems to have already caused the state’s abortion numbers to drop by at least several thousand.
The 15-week abortion ban in Florida went into force over the summer. In June, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and again allowed states to prohibit abortions.
Data from the Agency for Health Care Administration cited by Breitbart News shows that up until December 2, Florida registered 68,217 abortions this year. The state saw 79,817 abortions in 2021 and 74,868 in 2020.
So far, the 2022 figure shows Florida had nearly 12,000 fewer abortions this year than it did in 2021. So even after the December numbers are factored in, the state will still end up with fewer abortions of unborn children.
Before it introduced the current 15-week ban, Florida allowed abortions until the 24th week of pregnancy.
“The good news is the increase in abortions does not equal the drop in abortions in other states — meaning the abortion bans in surrounding states are saving the lives of thousands of babies,” commented Life News.
The head of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, Laura Goodhue, told The Tampa Bay Times she could not comprehend why the state was registering fewer abortions this year.
She said that half of the 15 Planned Parenthood abortion providers in Florida had double the typical number of abortions when the US Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade. Goodhue noted, though, that many of the abortions in question were to women from out of state.
According to the Agency for Health Care Administration data, Florida has had 5,439 abortions to women from out of state through December 2. In 2021, the number was 4,873.
Data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion group, shows that for many years, Florida has been among the US states with the highest rates of abortion.
As the state is seeing a slump in abortions this year, seemingly over its 15-week ban, it may go for an even more restrictive policy that could drive its abortion rate even lower.
Florida’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, who was reelected last month, said in a recent interview that he was prepared to sign a so-called “heartbeat bill” if the GOP-dominated state legislature passes it.
A “heartbeat bill” refers to an abortion ban after the sixth week of pregnancy, after the unborn child gets a heartbeat – such as the law adopted by Texas last year and upheld by the US Supreme Court, including through its June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
There will most likely be less abortions in Florida this year than in previous years, according to state data. https://t.co/tZTu75Klp4
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 28, 2022
