Florida’s 6-week abortion ban takes effect Wednesday, May 1, after the state’s Supreme Court upheld the law earlier in April. The state currently has a 15-week ban in place.
The new law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in April 2023, offers exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.
Candace Dye, the owner of A Woman’s World Medical Center, an abortion clinic in Florida, said that her and her team have been busy turning people away from their services.
“And a lot of people don’t even know this is going on,” Dye said. “We told patients over and over again yesterday — or potential patients yesterday — they had no idea. So then they scramble, ‘Can you get me in this weekend? Can you get me in this weekend? Can you get me in this weekend?’”
Thousands of women may now have to travel to other states to seek an abortion because most are not aware they are pregnant 6 weeks into a pregnancy.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, 11 southern states have either completely banned or imposed strict limits on the procedure.
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky have all banned abortion. Georgia and South Carolina both have a 6-week limit in place, while North Carolina implemented a 12-week limit.
According to data obtained by the Guttmacher Institute, on average, there were just over 7,000 abortions performed each month in Florida in 2023. In that same year, 9,300 women also traveled to Florida to seek an abortion.
“We don’t want to be an abortion tourism destination,” Gov. DeSantis said last year.
Floridians will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot measure to decide if they want to keep the 6-week ban in place this November. They will also have the chance to decide whether to amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights.
The ballot measure will need 60% support to pass.
