Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 300, the Heartbeat Protection Act, banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected in Florida on Thursday. He signed the bill late at night and issued a statement just after 11:00 p.m.

The bill passed overwhelmingly in the Florida House on a vote of 70-40. It was approved in the state Senate earlier this month. He tweeted out a somewhat subdued notification of the signing and noted the bill has “pro-life protections and devotes resources to help young mothers and families.”

Signed the Heartbeat Protection Act, which expands pro-life protections and devotes resources to help young mothers and families. pic.twitter.com/quZpSj1ZPk

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 14, 2023

Florida becomes the 20th state with a heartbeat bill signed into law. Heartbeat bills are controversial in nature with voters and in this case, some are noting that the signing of SB 300 was much more subdued than last spring when he celebrated a 15-week ban on abortion with speeches and live media coverage at a church. A 15-week ban is acceptable to more voters than a more restrictive six-week ban on abortion. With a possible entry into the Republican primary for president, it is noted in reporting that DeSantis was much quieter in signing SB 300, perhaps to avoid an abundance of attention and questions.

Florida’s existing law allows abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, a time period in which the vast majority of abortions take place. The six-week ban — which includes exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies and “fatal fetal abnormalities” — outlaws the procedure before many people know they’re pregnant.

Patients from across the South have been traveling to Florida for abortions since the Supreme Court decision in June, which triggered abortion bans across the region. Over 82,000 people got abortions in Florida in 2022, more than almost any other state. Nearly 7,000 of those traveled to Florida from other states, a 38 percent increase from the year before.

Those numbers have been an impetus for stricter restrictions, Florida Republicans say.

“I’m going to fight,” state Rep. David Borrero (R), one of the bill’s sponsors, said on the House floor Thursday afternoon. “As many sessions as it takes, as many votes as it takes … until every single person from the moment of conception to the casket has constitutional rights.”

Pro-abortion advocates predict that the new Florida law will push women to other states for abortions, flooding the clinics and putting stress on resources in other areas, like the Carolinas and Illinois.

DeSantis issued a brief, late-night statement after signing the bill.

“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”

The overwhelming support in the Florida House is thanks to a Republican supermajority in the Legislature, ushered in by DeSantis in the midterm election results. DeSantis successfully flipped Florida from a reliably purple state to a ruby red state. His unapologetically conservative message and actions in Florida paid off.

It wasn’t a good day for abortion advocates. Elections have consequences.

Thursday was a much darker day for advocates of abortion access, who say further restrictions will disproportionately hurt low-income women and women of color, drive obstetricians out of the state, and take away a health care option for Floridians and women across the south. The state has served as a haven for abortion for women who live in nearby states with six-week bans or total bans on the procedure.

“We have got to stop imposing our personal beliefs on other people and do what’s right for people,” said Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa. “Illegal abortions will be on the rise, and we will return to some very, very dark ages where people will die as a result of their inability to get a legal abortion.”

Protesters interrupted the proceedings several times. House Speaker Paul Renner had to clear the gallery and close it to members of the public. Some Democrat lawmakers gathered with protesters in the Capitol rotunda and sang “Lean on Me” with their arms around each other. At least there were not any bull horns on the House floor this time during this process.

Democrats proposed nearly 50 amendments that were rejected by Republicans.

One Democrat lawmaker pointed out that signing a more restrictive abortion bill into law is good for his voting base but will cause controversy in his presidential bid.

Signing a 6 week abortion into law might help with a Republican base but it just tanked your entire presidential bid. pic.twitter.com/saGsPqaUnZ

— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) April 14, 2023

We saw what happened in the midterm elections, so Democrats are emboldened to use abortion against Republican candidates in 2024. Suburban women and independent voters, in particular, are supportive of abortion restrictions at the 15 to 16-week mark in pregnancy. Support drops off when asked about a six-week ban. Many women don’t know they are pregnant at six weeks and would miss the heartbeat detection cut-off.

This was a necessary move for DeSantis. If he is going to enter the GOP primary, he certainly had to be able to check the box of signing a fetal heartbeat bill into law, joining the other red states that have done the same. It will be interesting to see how he plays it up, if he does, going forward with audiences. And, we still don’t know for sure that DeSantis will get into the primary, though there is every indication that he will. Trump is sucking all the oxygen out of the room at the present time. He intends to ride his bad publicity of indictments and prosecutions into a 2024 primary victory. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.