After recent news broke the U.S. Supreme Court may allow states to ban abortions, one state senator from Palm Beach County is attempting to stop that from happening in Florida.
Sen. Lori Berman, a Democrat from Delray Beach, told NBC affiliate WPTV-TV she will introduce a bill to secure abortions in the state while rolling back a recently signed 15-week ban on the procedure.
"The language guarantees that a woman can do what choice she wants, if she wants access to birth control, if she wants to have a child, if she wants to have an abortion, if she wants to put her child up for adoption," Berman said.
Berman has attempted to move similar bills through the Florida Legislature, but all were stopped by Republican leadership in the state. She admits that her bill has a tough road ahead.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
"I'm hopeful we can get some discussion, at least discussion in Tallahassee about this issue and a hearing," Berman said. "At least a hearing on the bill in the Senate would be great."
A draft opinion suggesting the high court could overturn the ruling in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case was published Monday.
Florida is already set to ban most abortions after 15 weeks under a law passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last month.
Local
"We are here today to defend those who can't defend themselves," the Republican governor said at the signing. "This will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation."
The new law, which takes effect July 1, contains exceptions if the abortion is necessary to save a mother’s life, prevent serious injury or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. It does not allow for exemptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.
Under current law, abortions are allowed in Florida up to 24 weeks.
Officials with Planned Parenthood in Florida said they're paying close attention.
"The Florida legislature has passed abortion restrictions every single year for the past 10 years and I can see them attempting to do more and so everybody needs to say stay vigilant, we need to vote, elections matter," Planned Parenthood's Laura Goodhue said.
Anthony Verdugo, the founder and executive director of the Christian Family Coalition in Florida, agrees with overturning Roe and said the power should go back to individual states.
"I think that the issue of abortion is an issue of human rights, and nowhere do we ever consider the human right of the unborn," Verdugo said. "Abortion will not be illegal in America, it will still be legal in the states that choose to allow it."
