Fla. Republicans ditch Texas-style abortion law for what they call a ‘generous’ 15-week ban, drawing criticism from all sides
By Caroline Kitchener TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It took just one day after Texas enacted its controversial “heartbeat bill,” banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, for a top Florida Republican to endorse passing the same law in his state — with the leader of the state Senate declaring that a copycat measure was “something we’re already working on.” But by the time the measure was introduced in September, drawing national headlines as the first Texas copycat ban to emerge nationwide, Florida GOP leaders effectively shrugged it off. Even Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising hero on the right for his unapologetic opposition to coronavirus restrictions, said he hadn’t read enough about the Texas ban to comment. His staff went further. Pointing to the novel enforcement mechanism that allowed citizen watchdogs to sue anyone involved in facilitating abortion access after the legal limit, they said DeSantis “didn’t want to turn private citizens against each other.” ...