Florida, an abortion refuge in the US south, poised to pass a six-week ban

DeSantis has signaled he will sign the proposed bill, which would slam the door shut for many patients traveling to the state for care

A six-week abortion ban proposed by Florida Republicans earlier this month threatens to reverberate across the American south.

Following the supreme court's decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization to overturn the federal right to abortion, Florida became a strategic refuge for women seeking to access reproductive healthcare from states that banned abortion - places as varied as Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas.