- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ |
Florida passes abortion ban at 15 weeks of pregnancy
Following similar moves by Republican-led states across America, Florida's legislature has passed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with only limited exceptions.
The law, passed by Florida's Senate on Thursday, shortens the time allowed for abortions from 24 weeks of pregnancy to 15 weeks, with exceptions only for life-threatening risks to the mother or if the fetus has a fatal anomaly.
Democrats in the Florida legislature were unsuccessful in attempts to add amendments that would allow exceptions of rape or incest.
The law had already passed the Florida House of Representatives, so it now only needs the governor's signature.
Governor Ron DeSantis, a staunchly conservative Republican, has said he supports the bill.
President Joe Biden called the law "dangerous" in a tweet and said it "will severely restrict women’s access to reproductive health care."
Advocates fear that the Florida law will reduce the availability of abortions in the entire southeast United States, as many people travel there due to restrictions in neighboring states.
"My Administration will not stand for the continued erosion of women’s constitutional rights," the president, himself a devout Catholic, added.
Stephanie Fraim, the CEO of a Florida branch of the Planned Parenthood abortion rights organization, called the bill "cruel and careless," in a statement.
"Floridians want the freedom to make their own private medical decisions, not to be told what to do by politicians," she added.
The Florida law is similar to one in the nearby southern state of Mississippi, which is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court.
Anti-abortion advocates hope the Supreme Court, which now has six conservative justices to only three liberals, will rule in favor of the Mississippi law.
In its decision, which should be published by the end of June, the court could decide to reinterpret or thrown out the landmark 1973 ruling in "Roe v. Wade," which provided a constitutional right to abortion.
Another abortion law being challenged in the Supreme Court is from the southern state of Texas, which created a ban on abortions at the time a heartbeat is detected -- usually around six weeks into a pregnancy, often before women even know they are pregnant.
While the Texas bill sets a much stricter ban than Mississippi or Florida, it also includes novel enforcement provisions, which the court might use to dodge more controversial abortion questions.
L.Harper--AMWN