US Abortion Law: 23,000 Babies Saved From Abortion Due To New Florida’s ‘Heart Beat’ Law

Since the state’s “heartbeat law” went into effect, almost 23,000 kids who would have otherwise been terminated have been born, according to new data released by the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration.

Since Governor Ron DeSantis signed the “Heartbeat Protection Act” in 2023, Florida has emerged as one of the most pro-life states in the US.

The law offers support for young moms and families and protects fetuses between six and eight weeks of pregnancy, after their distinct heartbeats can be identified.

Additionally, unless there is an emergency, a pregnant woman must have informed permission, be given the opportunity to watch an ultrasound, and have a 24-hour reflection time. Furthermore, it needs to be formally recorded, even though there are exceptions for rape, incest, and human trafficking.

Following a protracted court struggle in which the Florida Supreme Court declared 6-1 that the Florida Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion, the statute went into effect on May 1, 2024. Alongside the state’s restriction on abortions beyond 15 weeks, the “Heartbeat Protection Act” come into force.

The same exemptions from the 15-week ban are included in the law for the following reasons: to “avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment or a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition”; to preserve the mother’s life, including ectopic pregnancies; and to prevent fatal abnormalities in which the unborn child is unexpectedly unable to survive outside the womb.

In the past, Florida was a popular place for Southern women seeking abortions. According to Liberty Counsel, a non-profit legal organization, non-Florida residents going from out of state for an abortion dropped dramatically in 2024—nearly 51 percent—after the law went into effect, despite the fact that many of its surrounding states already had safeguards for unborn children.

Additionally, $30 million in recurring state funding has been made available under the “Heartbeat Protection Act” to support pregnant women and their families with car seats, cribs, clothes, and other necessities.

Tens of thousands of newborns have been spared abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, according to CBN News.

In the year after the supreme court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 32,000 kids who would have otherwise been aborted were born, according to a 2023 Institute of Labor Economics study.

“The news of fewer abortions in Florida, previously an abortion destination state, is evident that pro-life laws are saving lives and protecting women. Pro-life laws will only continue to bear fruit and we must continue to affirm everyone’s inalienable right to life whether born or unborn,” Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said.

“Our primary analysis indicates that in the first six months of 2023, births rose by an average of 2.3 percent in states enforcing total abortion bans compared to a control group of states where abortion rights remained protected, amounting to approximately 32,000 additional annual births resulting from abortion bans,” the study revealed.

Based on initial birth data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the researchers observed that the high court ruling caused the “most profound transformation of the landscape of U.S. abortion access in 50 years.”

“Within hours of the decision, abortions were halted in 10 states, either in response to a ban triggered by the decision or to the expected enforcement of a pre-Roe abortion ban that was still on the books. Over the weeks and months that followed, the landscape of abortion access continued to shift as more states sought to enact and enforce abortion bans and as some of those bans were challenged in state courts,” the study described.

In response to the survey, Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins wrote on X that the pro-life movement is gaining progress.

“Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t make a difference in the world. Thanks to the Pro-Life Gen’s dedication and sacrifice to the cause, all of those babies will have a chance at life, who otherwise wouldn’t,” she wrote. “Praise God!”