TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A bill aimed at restricting abortion access in Florida was filed Tuesday in the state House of Representatives.
State Rep. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach) filed House Bill 5: Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality, which would ban physicians from terminating a pregnancy if they could determine the fetus to be older than 15 weeks.
[TRENDING: Expert says 80% of Floridians will have had COVID by end of omicron wave | News 6 investigation prompts arrest over fraudulent deeds | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
The bill stipulates that abortions could be performed after 15 weeks under three conditions:
- If two physicians certify in writing that there is medical necessity for the termination of the pregnancy to save the mother’s life.
- If one physician certifies in writing that there is medical necessity for the termination of the pregnancy to save the mother’s life, and another physician is not available for consultation.
- If two physicians certify in writing that the fetus has not achieved viability or has a fatal fetal abnormality.
The bill also says that all medical facilities where abortions are performed must report all abortions and the reason they took place.
Other issues addressed in the bill include revision for the state’s Comprehensive Statewide Tobacco Education & Use Prevention Program and the creation of a fetal and infant mortality review committee.
House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, quickly backed the House abortion bill.
“The Florida House remains steadfast in our commitment to Florida’s children, both born and unborn,” Sprowls said in a prepared statement. “HB 5 significantly narrows the available window for elective abortions while providing new resources and programs to reduce infant mortality in Florida. This bill was the result of the hard work of many members, and I’d like to particularly thank Chairs Grall and Burton for their leadership on this important issue.”
In his State of the State address on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis alluded to having “an opportunity to strengthen protections for the right to life, without which the other rights mean little.”
Speaking to reporters later, he said he thinks a 15-week limit “makes a lot of sense.”
Stephanie Fraim, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, is concerned Tallahassee will pass the proposed abortion bills.
“We believe that everyone deserves to have the freedom and power to make the hard decisions about their lives and health care,” Fraim said. “And when a few people in the State Legislature in Tallahassee impose their beliefs on others, it’s not really a free community. And that’s where my heart is today, thinking about people who need to make important decisions about their family, about their health care. And now the state legislature is saying you don’t deserve that right to make those decisions about your health.”
Rep. Anna Eskamani, Florida State House District 47 Democrat, said if the bills pass, North Carolina would be Floridians’ closest option after 15 weeks.
“An abortion ban is an abortion ban, there is no way to hide or conceal how extreme that is. HB5/SB146 strips away our fundamental right to make personal decisions about one’s pregnancy and is a direct assault to the protections granted to us under Roe v. Wade,” Eskamani said. “If Roe were overturned and this bill were to become law, the closest option for Floridians to end a pregnancy after 15 weeks would be North Carolina. Meaning you would have to travel to North Carolina and go through that state’s 72 hour delay period, placing unnecessary financial and time constraints on our residents.”
“We stand in clear opposition to this bill and will make sure Floridians know which politicians are attacking their rights compared to those of us who are fighting back.”
News 6 Political Analyst, UCF History Professor Dr. Jim Clark, said the bills will surely end up in the Florida Courts, if the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t decide first.
“We have a constitutional amendment [in Florida] which many people have interpreted as protecting women’s health rights, so whatever happens is going to end up in the courts,” Clark said. “The Supreme Court has had the Texas and Mississippi and Georgia cases since last year. It’s ready to move. So the legislature may end up passing something that is moot or not.The U.S. Supreme Court is going to rule. And they are going to set guidelines just like Roe v. Wade did in 1973. The Supreme Court did not say go ahead, you can have an abortion anytime. The Supreme Court in 1973 set limits - first, second, third trimester, and so I expect them to do the same kind of thing when they make their ruling which again could come anytime now.”
If passed, the bill would take effect on July 1.
A similar bill (SB 146) was also filed in the state Senate by Sen. Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland).
Mississippi is the only other state with a 15-week abortion ban, a measure that is currently headed to the Supreme Court.