A girl, who selected to stay anonymous, talks to Doctor Audrey (R) before recieving an abortion at a Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic in West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 14, 2022.
Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
Florida state lawmakers on Tuesday introduced laws that may ban abortion after six weeks, when many ladies do not know they’re pregnant, with limited exceptions for medical emergencies and cases of rape and incest.
The laws, introduced in Florida’s House and Senate, would make performing an abortion after six weeks a third-degree felony punishable by as much as five years in prison.
The laws allows abortion in cases of rape and incest, but only as much as the fifteenth week of pregnancy as determined by a physician. The girl is required to supply evidence that she is the victim of rape or incest on the appointment where she’s going to have the abortion by providing a replica of a restraining order, police report, medical report or other court documentation.
Abortion can be allowed in severe medical emergencies, with the condition that two physicians certify in writing that the pregnant woman’s life is in peril or she faces a serious risk of considerable impairment to a bodily function. In instances where a second doctor will not be available for consultation, one physician could make that decision.
The laws also allows abortion as much as the third trimester in cases where the fetus has a fatal abnormality, but two physicians must certify that fact.
The White House condemned the proposed abortion ban, saying it will jeopardize access not only in Florida but across the South where many states have already got severe restrictions on abortion or outright bans. Florida law currently allows abortion as much as the fifteenth week of pregnancy.
“This ban would prevent not only the nearly 4 million Florida women of reproductive age from accessing abortion care after six weeks, but would also impact the nearly 15 million women of reproductive age who live in states across the South with abortion bans and would now not find a way to depend on Florida as an choice to access care,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Although the Florida laws provides an exception for medical emergencies, women in states akin to Texas with near total bans have said they were denied abortions despite facing dangerous pregnancy complications. Five women have sued Texas and asked a state court to make clear the scope of the medical emergency exception.
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Republicans introduced the bill within the Florida legislature on the identical day Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered his annual State of the State address. The governor didn’t mention the laws during his address, but said “we’re proud to be pro-life within the state of Florida.”
The laws introduced Tuesday also requires the abortion pill, mifepristone, to be disbursed by a physician to the patient during an in-person appointment. The laws bans abortion pills from being sent by mail within the state through the U.S. Postal Service or another carrier.
DeSantis signed laws in April 2022 that banned abortion after 15 weeks. That law went into effect in July, days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended 50 years of federal protection of abortion rights under the U.S. Structure.
Florida previously allowed abortion until the twenty fourth week of pregnancy.
