Yesterday, the Florida Senate voted 26-13 in favor of SB 300, a bill protecting preborn children at six weeks gestation, which is the age at which a preborn child’s heartbeat can usually be detected by ultrasound. The preborn child’s heart begins to beat between 16 and 22 days after fertilization.
The bill could be debated in the House this week. Governor Ron DeSantis has indicated that, if passed, he will sign the bill into law. According to National Review, the bill will also “allocate $25 million in funds to pregnancy resource centers to support women in need,” and bans the distribution of abortion drugs through telemedicine, requiring that such drugs be administered in person.
The bill does contain multiple exceptions; it would allow abortions for children conceived as a result of rape, incest, or in instances of human trafficking. It would also allow abortion to save a woman’s life or prevent “imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment” and in cases of a “fatal fetal abnormality.”
A physician may not knowingly perform or induce a termination of pregnancy if the physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is more than 6 weeks unless one of the following conditions is met:
(a) Two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.
(b) The physician certifies in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, there is a medical necessity for legitimate emergency medical procedures for termination of the pregnancy to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition, and another physician is not available for consultation.
(c) The pregnancy has not progressed to the third trimester and two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality.
(d) The pregnancy is the result of rape, incest, or human trafficking and the gestational age of the fetus is not more than 15 weeks as determined by the physician.
The bill requires “evidence” that a woman has been the “victim of rape, incest, or human trafficking,” such as “a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation” before obtaining an abortion. All instances of human trafficking must be reported to law enforcement, and “if the woman is a minor, the physician must report the incident of rape, incest, or human trafficking to the central abuse hotline….”
According to National Review, “If signed into law, [the bill’s] implementation will depend upon how the Florida Supreme Court rules on the existing 15-week ban,” which is currently being challenged in court. NR notes that “The law’s challengers argue that it violates Florida’s Constitution.”
NRL News Today noted that “[AG Ashley] Moody’s office ‘filed a 67-page brief arguing that justices should rule that a privacy clause in the Florida Constitution does not protect abortion rights and that past rulings on the issue were “clearly erroneous,”‘ according to Jim Saunders, writing for the News Service of Florida. The brief went further saying the Legislature should make decisions about limitations on abortion.”
Two Republican state senators voted against SB 300. One was Sen. Alexis Calatayud (R-Miami), who, according to Politico, said her ‘no’ vote was “on behalf of her constituents” but added, “I believe it will pass and it will become the law in this state. And I believe it will go a long way to help change the hearts and minds influenced by a decade of anti-life culture.”
State Senator Erin Grall, the bill’s sponsor, said, “We’re so far from safe, legal, and rare, we have normalized and sterilized the taking of life as health care. We’ve heard women will continue to have abortions, but that’s like saying people will continue murdering people.”
