Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says he will “look more significantly” at a fetal heartbeat abortion ban after the Supreme Court declined to block a similar law in Texas.
“What they did in Texas is interesting and I haven’t really been able to look at enough about it,” DeSantis told reporters, according to Local 10 News.
“They’ve basically done this through private right of action. So, it’s a little bit different than how a lot of these debates have gone, so we will have to look. I am going to look more significantly at it,” he continued.
The Texas law, which went into effect Wednesday, effectively bans almost all abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is often six weeks after a woman becomes pregnant.
While there is an exception for medical emergencies, it does not allow an exemption for women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest.
The law also contains a provision making it legal for a private person to sue anyone who is suspected of performing or aiding in abortion in violation of the law.
The Supreme Court denied an emergency request from abortion providers to block the ruling Wednesday in a 5-4 ruling, with the majority coming the court’s conservative justice. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberal justices to dissent.
Earlier on Thursday, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R) said state lawmakers were ready to introduce a similar measure, saying the high court’s decision gave them the go-ahead to replicate the law.
“When the Supreme Court goes out and makes a decision like this, it clearly is going to send a signal to all the states that are interested in banning abortions or making it more restrictive to have an abortion in their state, it’s certainly going to make us take a look at those issues,” Simpson said.