Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure banning late-term abortions into law on Thursday. The law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The newly signed law is the latest move to restrict access to the procedure before a U.S. Supreme Court decision could limit abortion rights across the country, according to an NBC News report.

DeSantis said during the signing ceremony that the law will represent "the most significant protections for life" that have been approved in the state in a generation.

The law will take effect on July 1, which would bar a successful legal challenge. It would also widely reduce access to late-term abortions for women across the Southeastern U.S.

Many would travel to Florida due to stricter abortion laws in surrounding states.

Meanwhile, it also allows exceptions when the mother's life is at risk or in danger of "irreversible physical impairment," according to The Daily Wire report.

Another exemption in the law is if the unborn baby has a fetal abnormality. However, it does not offer exceptions for rape.

DeSantis noted during the ceremony that "we are here to defend those who can't defend themselves."

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Late-Term Abortions Ban in Florida

Women across U.S. Southeast travel hundreds of miles to end pregnancies in Florida due to stricter abortion laws in neighboring states.

Florida currently allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, according to a Reuters report.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement that nobody should be forced to travel miles away just to have access to essential health care.

Johnson said that in signing the bill, DeSantis will be forcing Floridians seeking abortion "to do just that."

Several Republican-led states are quickly passing anti-abortion legislation in 2022, with the anticipation that the U.S. Supreme Court will reinstate a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi.

D.C. officials have implied that they will perform autopsies on the babies, which pushed Texas Rep. Chip Roy to question whether avoiding autopsies are eyed for ideological reasons.

The newly signed law has received criticisms from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, as well as other abortion supporters and groups.

Abortion Ban Across U.S.

A similar law was passed in Arizona last month, while the Idaho Legislature has approved a measure to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. It was similar to a Texas law that is considered to be the most restrictive in the country.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood Oregon has not confirmed what it aims to do with the space it is leasing in Oregon.

Planned Parenthood said that it is preparing for a wave of out-of-state patients seeking abortions in Oregon amid multiple legal challenges to abortion rights, according to an OPB report.

Kenji Nozaki, the chief of affiliate operations at Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, said that no matter what happens, they will be there for their in-state and out-of-state patients.

Nozaki added that they will continue to cater to the needs of their patients.

Idaho has two laws criminalizing abortion at all stages of pregnancy that would take effect in the event of a successful legal challenge to Roe v. Wade.

READ MORE: Texas Lawmaker Seeks Death Penalty for Women Who Get Abortions

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: DeSantis Signs Abortion Restriction Bill in Florida - from NBC News