Florida Senate Passes Controversial 6-Week Abortion Ban Despite Protests and Religious Rights Concerns

The Florida state senate has approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Republican governor Ron DeSantis, who on the same day signed into law a bill allowing the public to carry concealed guns without a permit. The new abortion bill would have larger implications for abortion access throughout the south, as the nearby states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi prohibit the procedure at all stages of pregnancy and Georgia bans it after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks. Meanwhile, the new weapons law will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to carry one without a permit.