Four months later, Florida Republicans have coalesced around a bill they have come to describe as “very reasonable” and “generous” — a 15-week ban modeled after the Mississippi law before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case that will determine the future of Roe v. Wade. It’s an approach, they say, that would prevent only a fraction of the more than 70,000 abortions performed in Florida each year, the vast majority of which take place in the first trimester.

“We’re not banning anything. We’re not being mean,” said state Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Republican from central Florida and a chief sponsor of the Mississippi-style bill that was approved by a committee last week and is expected to win easy passage before the legislative session ends in March. “We’re not taking away a woman’s opportunity.”…

One prominent antiabortion lobbyist, Andrew Shirvell, executive director of Florida Voice for the Unborn, has publicly called on DeSantis to join fellow GOP Govs. Kristi L. Noem of South Dakota and Greg Abbott of Texas to back stricter bans. To date, the strongest abortion law signed by DeSantis, who is up for reelection this year and widely seen as a potential presidential candidate, is a 2020 measure requiring parental consent.

“We’ve had pro-life majorities in our legislature for close to 30 years and a Republican governor for decades. There is really little excuse for this,” Shirvell said. “If you believe that abortion is murder, then you need to act like it.”