Europe1.fr with AFP/Photo credits: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP 5:01 p.m., April 2, 2024

Joe Biden on Tuesday called on Florida voters to "make their voices heard" in November after the state's supreme court validated a law that prohibits abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy. 

Describing Monday's decision as "extreme" and "scandalous", the US president said in a statement that such restrictions put "the health and lives of millions of women at risk" by making medical care "out of reach". which they desperately need. 

The Democrat, who made the defense of abortion a major axis of his campaign for a second term, assured that he stood "alongside the vast majority of Americans, who support the right of women to choose, including in Florida, where voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard in November.”

>> READ ALSO - 

IVG in the United States: “I never thought I would have to fight the same fight as my grandmother”

The supreme court of the southeastern state has in fact taken two separate decisions, one having the effect of very strictly limiting the use of voluntary termination of pregnancy, the other returning the final decision to the voters. On the one hand, she rejected the suspension of a law promulgated in April 2023 by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, prohibiting abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy. This text will therefore come into force in 30 days.

An amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion?

The highest court of the State has also validated the inclusion on the ballot papers in the American elections in November of an amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion. It is customary in the United States for voters to vote simultaneously in presidential elections, legislative elections and on many local issues. If passed by at least 60% of the vote, this amendment will be added to the Florida Constitution's Bill of Rights.

It prohibits "the adoption of any law prohibiting, criminalizing, delaying or restricting abortion before viability or when it is necessary to protect the health of the patient", the viability of the fetus being generally estimated around 24 weeks.

>> READ ALSO - 

IVG: while France advances, 25% of Americans no longer have access to abortion where they live

Joe Biden's campaign team stressed on Monday that "this new extreme ban - for which Donald Trump personally paved the way - will represent a ban for the entire southeast". The former Republican president, also a presidential candidate, prides himself on having, through his appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States, resulted in the reversal of jurisprudence of June 2022 which canceled the federal guarantee of the right to abortion.

Since this decision giving states full latitude to legislate in this area, around twenty have banned or severely restricted access to abortion.