TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Thursday, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issued a notice to healthcare providers regarding “misinformation” about abortions in the state.
According to the notice, misinformation has been spread within Florida about the state’s abortion laws, prompting clarification from the agency.
“The law is clear: abortion is permissible at any stage of pregnancy in Florida to save the life and health of the mother,” the notice reads. “Abortion is also available when the pregnancy results from rape, incest, or human trafficking, or has a fatal fetal abnormality.”
The notice explains that exceptions to Florida’s abortion restrictions include treatment for women experiencing premature rupture of membranes (PROM), ectopic, or molar pregnancies.
In addition, the notice clarifies that a miscarriage doesn’t qualify as an abortion.
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“Providers are reminded that Florida requires life-saving medical care to a mother without delay when necessary,” the notice continues. “And the (FAHCA) and the Florida Department of Health will take regulatory action when a provider fails to follow this standard of care.”
Abortion has become a controversial topic in recent decades, with supporters saying it’s a matter of women’s bodily autonomy, and opponents arguing it’s a form of infanticide.
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week elective abortion ban into law titled the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” which gets its moniker from the fact that an unborn child’s heart can develop as early as three weeks into a pregnancy.
A 15-week ban was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court, allowing the six-week ban to take effect earlier this year with some exceptions. Under the law, abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape, incest or human trafficking are instead limited to 15 weeks.
The most recent figures from the FAHCA show that the types of cases highlighted in the notice account for approximately 0.03% of abortions in the state, with the vast majority simply being elective.
For a full breakdown of abortion totals across the state last year, click here.
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