TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Protecting the unborn or restricting reproductive rights?

At the Nación De Fe Church in Kissimmee Thursday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Florida’s new ban on nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

“This is a time where these babies have beating hearts, they can move, they can taste, they can see, they can feel pain, they can suck their thumbs, and they have brainwaves,” Gov. DeSantis said. “This will represent the most significant protections for life enacted in this state for a generation.”

The signing of House Bill 5 comes as constitutional protections for reproductive privacy are already under review at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court justices heard arguments in December about Mississippi’s similar 15-week abortion ban.

As the nation awaits a decision in June that could overturn Roe v. Wade and 50 years of precedent for abortion rights, the ACLU is planning a legal challenge of Florida’s new law.

“The Florida state constitution has a right to privacy that protects against the political interference with Floridians most personal decisions, including the decision to end a pregnancy,” said Julia Kaye, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s Project on Reproductive Freedom.

Critics of the new law, like Planned Parenthood, issued a statement saying it is part of a national strategy to eliminate abortion access.

“This isn’t about caring for children, this is about controlling women,” said Stephanie Fraim, president and CEO at Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.

State Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland) sponsored the bill. She said her unexpected pregnancy at 17-years-old shaped her beliefs on this issue.

“And many people said that I would not be able to do any of the things, that I was gonna be burdened by it, be on the debt of society if I had that baby, that was the narrative, “ Stargel said. “We’re trying to change that narrative. Women can accomplish great things.”

Despite Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to amend the bill, there are no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape, incest or human trafficking.

The only two exceptions under the new law are if the physical health of the mother is in grave danger or if there’s a fetal abnormality.

‘This is a dangerous step towards Florida politician’s ultimate goal of banning abortion entirely,” Kaye said.