Bill Text: FL S1076 | 2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Reproductive Health Care Rights
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2023-05-05 - Died in Health Policy [S1076 Detail]
Download: Florida-2023-S1076-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1076
By Senator Berman
26-00055A-23 20231076__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to reproductive health care rights;
3 creating s. 381.00515, F.S.; providing a short title;
4 providing a legislative finding; providing that each
5 person has certain fundamental rights related to
6 reproductive health care; prohibiting a person, the
7 state, a local governmental entity, or any political
8 subdivision of the state from discriminating against,
9 denying, unduly burdening, or interfering with a
10 person’s exercise of such fundamental rights;
11 providing for a civil cause of action and remedies;
12 providing that the recovery limits of sovereign
13 immunity apply; amending s. 390.011, F.S.; deleting
14 the definition of the term “fatal fetal abnormality”;
15 amending s. 390.0111, F.S.; revising the timeframe in
16 which a termination of pregnancy is allowed; deleting
17 an exception; providing an effective date.
18
19 WHEREAS, comprehensive reproductive health care, including
20 contraception and abortion, is a fundamental component of a
21 woman’s health, privacy, and equality, and
22 WHEREAS, section 23, Article I of the State Constitution
23 protects a woman’s fundamental right to access a safe, legal
24 abortion, and the courts have reaffirmed this right and further
25 emphasized that the state may not place undue burdens on women
26 seeking to access such right, and
27 WHEREAS, as with other medical procedures, the safety of
28 abortion is furthered by evidence-based practices developed and
29 supported by medical professionals, with abortion being one of
30 the safest medical procedures performed in the United States,
31 and
32 WHEREAS, the goal of health care regulation should be to
33 improve the quality and availability of health care services,
34 and
35 WHEREAS, it is the public policy of this state that every
36 person possesses the fundamental rights of privacy and equality
37 with respect to his or her personal reproductive decisions and
38 he or she should be able to safely effectuate those decisions,
39 including seeking and obtaining abortion care, free from
40 discrimination, and
41 WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to prevent the
42 enforcement of laws or regulations that are not in furtherance
43 of a legitimate state interest in protecting a woman’s health
44 and that place burdens on the woman’s right to access a safe,
45 legal abortion, NOW, THEREFORE,
46
47 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
48
49 Section 1. Section 381.00515, Florida Statutes, is created
50 to read:
51 381.00515 Reproductive health care protections; civil
52 remedies.—
53 (1) This section may be cited as the “Reproductive Health
54 Care Protections Act.”
55 (2) The Legislature finds that comprehensive reproductive
56 health care is a fundamental component of every person’s health,
57 privacy, and equality.
58 (3) Each person has the fundamental rights to choose or
59 refuse contraception or sterilization and to choose to carry a
60 pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an
61 abortion in accordance with chapter 390.
62 (4) A person, the state, a local governmental entity, or
63 any political subdivision of the state may not discriminate
64 against, deny, unduly burden, or interfere with any person’s
65 exercise of the fundamental rights provided under this section
66 or the State Constitution in the regulation or provision of
67 benefits, facilities, services, or information.
68 (5) A person whose rights have been impaired or deprived in
69 violation of this section may file an action in circuit court
70 for injunctive or other equitable relief and is entitled to
71 recover damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The
72 total amount of recovery against the state, a local governmental
73 entity, or any other political subdivision of the state may not
74 exceed the limitations set forth in s. 768.28(5).
75 Section 2. Subsection (6) of section 390.011, Florida
76 Statutes, is amended to read:
77 390.011 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
78 (6) “Fatal fetal abnormality” means a terminal condition
79 that, in reasonable medical judgment, regardless of the
80 provision of life-saving medical treatment, is incompatible with
81 life outside the womb and will result in death upon birth or
82 imminently thereafter.
83 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 390.0111, Florida
84 Statutes, is amended to read:
85 390.0111 Termination of pregnancies.—
86 (1) TERMINATION IN THIRD TRIMESTER AFTER GESTATIONAL AGE OF
87 15 WEEKS; WHEN ALLOWED.—A physician may not perform a
88 termination of pregnancy in the third trimester of pregnancy if
89 the physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is
90 more than 15 weeks unless one of the following conditions is
91 met:
92 (a) Two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable
93 medical judgment, the termination of the pregnancy is necessary
94 to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of
95 substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major
96 bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological
97 condition.
98 (b) The physician certifies in writing that, in reasonable
99 medical judgment, there is a medical necessity for legitimate
100 emergency medical procedures for termination of the pregnancy to
101 save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of
102 imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a
103 major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a
104 psychological condition, and another physician is not available
105 for consultation.
106 (c) The fetus has not achieved viability under s. 390.01112
107 and two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable
108 medical judgment, the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality.
109 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
