FL Abortion Bills Under Consideration Include Bans After 6 to 15 Weeks Of Pregnancy

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida's Democrats and Republicans are preparing for a showdown over the neverending abortion date during this legislative session, with at least eight bills from both sides of the aisle filed for consideration, including one that will outlaw abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and another that would ban abortions once the fetus' heartbeat is detected — as early as six to eight weeks.

On Tuesday, the opening of the 2022 legislative session, House Judiciary Committee chairwoman Erin Grall, R-Vera Beach, filed House Bill 5, "Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality." If passed, it will make it illegal to give or receive an abortion after 15 weeks.

The bill is now headed to the House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee.

Meanwhile, Florida Rep. Webster Barnady, R-Deltona, filed a separate bill, House Bill 167, which could ban abortions after six to eight weeks of pregnancy.

Barnady's bill requires doctors to test for and inform women seeking an abortion of the presence of a detectable fetal heartbeat, and then prohibits doctors from performing or inducing an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Obstetricians say a fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as six to eight weeks into pregnancy.

The problem with this law, said the Boston University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is the term "fetal heartbeat" as used in the proposed legislation doesn't acknowledge that ultrasound machines can detect electrical activity from the cells of a fetus. What the technician may hear during an ultrasound might not actually be a heartbeat.

"In no way is this detecting a functional cardiovascular system or a functional heart," said Dr. Nisha Verma of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“When I use a stethoscope to listen to a patient’s heart, the sound that I’m hearing is caused by the opening and closing of the cardiac valves,” she said. "The sound generated by an ultrasound in very early pregnancy is quite different. At six weeks of gestation, those valves don't exist. The flickering that we're seeing on the ultrasound that early in the development of the pregnancy is actually electrical activity, and the sound that you hear is actually manufactured by the ultrasound machine."

Barnaby's bill would exclude victims of rape, incest, domestic violence and human trafficking, but the woman would have to provide documentation that she was a victim of one of these crimes, which isn't always available because some women are afraid to report the crimes.

If passed, the so-called "fetal heartbeat bill" will be among similar laws passed by 11 other states.HB 167 received its first reading in the House on Tuesday and, if approved,would go into effect July 1, essentially preventing women from receiving an abortion in Florida after six to eight weeks.

See related story: FL Legislature: Rundown Of Bills Proposed For Tuesday Opening

During his opening statements in which he listed some of the most significant bills to be considered by the House during the 2022 session, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, endorsed the less restrictive abortion bill filed by Grall and approved by Rep. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, chairwoman of the House Health & Human Services Committee.

“The Florida House remains steadfast in our commitment to Florida’s children, both born and unborn,” Sprowls said. “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.”

He noted that HB 5 is consistent with Mississippi’s 2018 Gestational Age Act and the pending U.S. Supreme Court case, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Oral arguments on that case were heard in December and a decision by the Supreme Court is expected this summer.

“As a dedicated champion for the unborn, I am proud to support this legislation as a capstone to my fight for life in the Florida House,” said Grall, “We owe it to future generations of Floridians to address these issues now.”

“When you look at the data, you understand that saving the lives of babies both before and after birth must be a priority,” Burton said. “Living out our commitment to children, born and unborn, is how we begin to build a healthier Florida.”

Under these bills, the state or local governments would not enforce the law. Instead, any action would be taken through civil lawsuits, which could be filed against women seeking an abortion, doctors who perform them and nonprofit agencies that refer women for abortions such as Planned Parenthood.

In response to the current anti-abortion climate across the country, state Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, and state Sen. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach, have filed the Reproductive Health Care Protection Act.

House Bill 709 and Senate Bill 1036 guarantee a person's right to access reproductive health care in the state of Florida and they prohibit any "individual or government entity from denying a citizen's fundamental rights of privacy with respect to their personal reproductive decisions."

"The Florida Constitution recognizes an explicit right to privacy, which has protected the people of Florida's right to reproductive health care for decades," Diamond said. "The Reproductive Health Care Protection Act reaffirms that these protections apply to Floridians' ability to access abortion care, and any attempt to interfere with a person's ability to exercise these fundamental rights is unacceptable in the state of Florida."

He added that, while the state of Texas appears willing to violate a woman's right to privacy and decisions over her own reproductive health care with its "new Draconian anti-abortion law," Diamond said, "this legislation would ensure Floridians have the right to enforce their own constitutional rights."

Berman said the Reproductive Health Care Protection Act will also provide a civil cause of action for women who are denied privacy or "unduly burdened" when seeking reproductive health care in Florida.

"Republican legislators in Florida have long been out of touch with how constituents feel regarding access to a safe and legal abortion," Berman said. "In my 11 years as a state legislator, I have seen dozens of bills proposed that erode a woman's right to choose. Many of these bills, unfortunately, have passed, due to our extreme conservative Legislature."

She called the recent revival of anti-abortion legislation "extremism."

"The Legislature needs to recognize that abortion is health care and stop interfering in decisions between a woman, her health care provider and those with whom she chooses to consult," Berman. That is why I have filed this bill with Rep. Diamond — to declare women's fundamental rights to reproductive care."

She said there are women who have spent their lifetimes fighting anti-abortion legislation and pleaded for a new generation of young women to "pick up the torch and not take reproductive rights for granted."

"We must act together to ensure any extremist legislation is defeated and counter that legislation with better, strong alternatives," she said.

“Florida Republicans want to follow in Texas’ misguided footsteps and consider an intrusive and Draconian restriction of women’s constitutional rights," Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said. "This is a direct attack on reproductive rights by leaders who care more about politics than the health and wellbeing of women. That should make all of us willing to fight."

She said she's willing and able to join the battle.

“I will be standing with everyone who wants to work against this legislation," she said. "We must be on the ground in our local areas and in Tallahassee. If Florida Republicans want to declare war on Florida’s women, we will be ready for the fight.”

Also in an effort to counter the anti-abortion bills, Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, and Minority Senate Leader Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, filed House Bill 6023 and Senate Bill 628, "Abortion Clinic Regulations," which would remove the specified timeframe in which certain information must be provided to a pregnant woman before a pregnancy can be terminated.

It also strikes out at current requirements that prohibit state agencies, local governments and Medicaid-managed care plans from giving funds to or renewing the contracts of agencies that perform abortion and eliminates the requirement that the Agency for Health Care Administration review abortion clinic patient records as part of license inspections for those agencies.

The first reading of the bills in both the House and Senate was also Tuesday.

Current Florida Laws Regarding Abortions

• Florida currently bans abortion after 24 weeks of gestation except in cases in which the mother's life or health is in danger.
• A patient must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage the patient from having an abortion.
• Health plans offered in the state’s health exchange under the Affordable Care Act can only cover abortion in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest, unless women purchase an optional rider at an additional cost.
• Approved this past session, the parent of a minor must be notified before an abortion is provided.
• Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
• A patient must undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion and the health care provider must offer the patient the option to see the image.

How Florida's Proposed Legislation Compares to Texas Law

Texas' controversial new abortion law, which went into effect Sept. 1, is much more restrictive than the proposed Florida legislation.

It bans abortions six weeks after a woman's last menstrual period.

However, many women don't realize they're pregnant until they miss their next menstrual cycle, which occurs every 28 days if the woman has regular periods but can occur farther apart for women with irregular periods.

According to a study by the University of Texas in Austin, 85 to 90 percent of woman don't realize they're pregnant within six weeks of conceiving. This means the Texas bill is essentially a ban on abortion.