Bill Text: FL S1748 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Abortions
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1748 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S1748-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Abortions
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1748 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S1748-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2011 (Corrected Copy) SB 1748 By Senator Flores 38-01641C-11 20111748__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to abortions; amending s. 390.0111, 3 F.S.; restricting the circumstances in which an 4 abortion may be performed in the third trimester or 5 after viability; requiring an abortion clinic to 6 provide conspicuous notice on any form or medium of 7 advertisement that the abortion clinic is prohibited 8 from performing abortions in the third trimester or 9 after viability; providing certain physician, 10 location, and clinic licensure and ownership 11 requirements; requiring a physician who offers to 12 perform or performs terminations of pregnancy to 13 complete continuing education related to ethics; 14 prohibiting a termination of pregnancy from being 15 performed in a location other than a validly licensed 16 hospital, abortion clinic, or physician’s office; 17 prohibiting a person from establishing, conducting, 18 managing, or operating an abortion clinic without a 19 valid, current license; prohibiting a person from 20 performing or assisting in performing an abortion on a 21 person in the third trimester or after viability, 22 other than in a hospital; requiring an abortion clinic 23 to be owned and operated by a physician who has 24 received training during residency in performing a 25 dilation-and-curettage procedure or a dilation-and 26 evacuation procedure; providing a penalty; providing 27 that failure to dispose of fetal remains in accordance 28 with rules of the Department of Health is a 29 misdemeanor of the first degree rather than a 30 misdemeanor of the second degree; clarifying 31 provisions providing that it is a first-degree 32 misdemeanor to unlawfully advertise how to obtain a 33 miscarriage of a woman pregnant with a child; 34 requiring the Department of Health to permanently 35 revoke the license of any health care practitioner who 36 is convicted or found guilty of, or enters a plea of 37 guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of 38 adjudication, certain felony criminal acts; requiring 39 the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit to 40 the Governor and Legislature an annual report of 41 aggregate statistical data relating to abortions and 42 provide such data on its website; amending s. 43 390.0112, F.S.; requiring the director of a medical 44 facility or physician’s office to submit a report to 45 the agency following each termination of pregnancy on 46 a form developed by the agency which is consistent 47 with the U.S. Standard Report of Induced Termination 48 of Pregnancy from the Centers for Disease Control and 49 Prevention; requiring the agency to submit reported 50 data to the Division of Reproductive Health within the 51 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; amending 52 s. 390.012, F.S.; requiring the agency to adopt rules 53 that prescribe standards for placing conspicuous 54 notice on any form or medium of advertisement of an 55 abortion clinic which states that the abortion clinic 56 is prohibited from performing abortions in the third 57 trimester or after viability; amending s. 456.013, 58 F.S.; requiring that each applicable board require a 59 physician who offers to perform or performs 60 terminations of pregnancy to annually complete a 61 course relating to ethics as part of the licensure and 62 renewal process; providing that the course counts 63 toward the total number of continuing education hours 64 required for the profession; requiring the applicable 65 board to approve the course; repealing s. 797.02, 66 F.S., relating to the advertising of drugs for 67 abortions; repealing s. 797.03, F.S., relating to 68 prohibited acts related to abortions and their 69 penalties; providing for severability; providing an 70 effective date. 71 72 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 73 74 Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), (7), and (10) of section 75 390.0111, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (12) is 76 added to that section, to read: 77 390.0111 Termination of pregnancies.— 78 (1) TERMINATION IN THIRD TRIMESTER OR AFTER VIABILITY; WHEN 79 ALLOWED.— 80 (a) ANotermination of pregnancy may notshallbe 81 performed after the period at which, in the best medical 82 judgment of the physician, the fetus has attained viability, as 83 defined in subsection (4), or on any personhuman beingin the 84 third trimester of pregnancy unless: 85 1.(a)Two physicians certify in writing to the existence of 86 a medical emergency, as defined in s. 390.01114(2)(d)fact that,87to a reasonable degree of medical probability, the termination88of pregnancy is necessary to save the life or preserve the89health of the pregnant woman; or 90 2.(b)The physician certifies in writing to the existence 91 of a medical emergency, as defined in s. 390.01114(2)(d)medical92necessity for legitimate emergency medical procedures for93termination of pregnancy in the third trimester, and another 94 physician is not available for consultation. 95 (b) An abortion clinic must provide conspicuous notice on 96 any form or medium of advertisement that the abortion clinic is 97 prohibited from performing abortions in the third trimester or 98 after viability. 99 (2) PHYSICIAN, LOCATION, AND CLINIC LICENSURE AND OWNERSHIP 100 REQUIREMENTSPERFORMANCE BY PHYSICIAN REQUIRED.— 101 (a) No termination of pregnancy shall be performed at any 102 time except by a physician as defined in s. 390.011. A physician 103 who offers to perform or performs terminations of pregnancy in 104 an abortion clinic must annually complete a minimum of 3 hours 105 of continuing education that must relate to ethics. 106 (b) Except for procedures that must be conducted in a 107 hospital or in emergency-care situations, a termination of 108 pregnancy may not be performed in a location other than in a 109 validly licensed hospital, abortion clinic, or physician’s 110 office. 111 (c) A person may not establish, conduct, manage, or operate 112 an abortion clinic without a valid current license. 113 (d) A person may not perform or assist in performing an 114 abortion on a person in the third trimester or after viability, 115 other than in a hospital. 116 (e) After October 1, 2011, an abortion clinic must be 117 wholly owned and operated by a physician who has received 118 training during residency in performing a dilation-and-curettage 119 procedure or a dilation-and-evacuation procedure. 120 (f) A person who willfully violates paragraph (c), 121 paragraph (d), or paragraph (e) commits a misdemeanor of the 122 second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 123 775.083. 124 (7) FETAL REMAINS.—Fetal remains shall be disposed of in a 125 sanitary and appropriate manner and in accordance with standard 126 health practices, as provided by rule of the Department of 127 Health. Failure to dispose of fetal remains in accordance with 128 department rules is a misdemeanor of the firstseconddegree, 129 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 130 (10) PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION.— 131 (a) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (7): 132 1.(a)Any person who willfully performs, or actively 133 participates in, a termination of pregnancy procedure in 134 violation of the requirements of this section commits a felony 135 of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 136 775.083, or s. 775.084. 137 2.(b)Any person who performs, or actively participates in, 138 a termination of pregnancy procedure in violation of the 139 provisions of this section which results in the death of the 140 woman commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as 141 provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 142 3. Any person who knowingly advertises, prints, publishes, 143 distributes, or circulates, or who knowingly causes to be 144 advertised, printed, published, distributed, or circulated, any 145 pamphlet, printed paper, book, newspaper notice, advertisement, 146 or reference containing words or language giving or conveying 147 any notice, hint, or reference to any person, or the name of any 148 person, real or fictitious, from whom, or to any place, house, 149 shop, or office where any poison, drug, mixture, preparation, 150 medicine, or noxious thing, or any instrument or means whatever, 151 or any advice, direction, information, or knowledge that may be 152 obtained for the purpose of performing an abortion in violation 153 of this chapter, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, 154 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 155 (b) The department shall permanently revoke the license of 156 any licensed health care practitioner who has been convicted or 157 found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere 158 to, regardless of adjudication, a felony criminal act provided 159 in paragraph (a). 160 (12) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AGENCY.—Before each general 161 legislative session, the agency shall report aggregate 162 statistical data relating to abortions, which has been reported 163 to the Division of Reproductive Health within the Centers for 164 Disease Control and Prevention, on its website and provide an 165 annual report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and 166 the Speaker of the House of Representatives regarding such data. 167 Any information required to be reported under this paragraph 168 must not include any personal identifying information. 169 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 390.0112, Florida 170 Statutes, is amended to read: 171 390.0112 Termination of pregnancies; reporting.— 172 (1) The director of any medical facility or physician’s 173 office in which any pregnancy is terminated shall submit a 174monthlyreport to the agency following each termination, on a 175 form developed by the agency which is consistent with the U.S. 176 Standard Report of Induced Termination of Pregnancy from the 177 Centers for Disease Control and Preventionwhich contains the178number of procedures performed, the reason for same, and the179period of gestation at the time such procedures were performed180to the agency. The agency shall be responsible for keeping such 181 reports in a central place from which statistical data and 182 analysis can be made. The agency shall submit reported data to 183 the Division of Reproductive Health within the Centers for 184 Disease Control and Prevention. 185 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 186 390.012, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 187 390.012 Powers of agency; rules; disposal of fetal 188 remains.— 189 (3) For clinics that perform or claim to perform abortions 190 after the first trimester of pregnancy, the agency shall adopt 191 rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the 192 provisions of this chapter, including the following: 193 (a) Rules for an abortion clinic’s physical facilities. At 194 a minimum, these rules shall prescribe standards for: 195 1. Adequate private space that is specifically designated 196 for interviewing, counseling, and medical evaluations. 197 2. Dressing rooms for staff and patients. 198 3. Appropriate lavatory areas. 199 4. Areas for preprocedure hand washing. 200 5. Private procedure rooms. 201 6. Adequate lighting and ventilation for abortion 202 procedures. 203 7. Surgical or gynecological examination tables and other 204 fixed equipment. 205 8. Postprocedure recovery rooms that are equipped to meet 206 the patients’ needs. 207 9. Emergency exits to accommodate a stretcher or gurney. 208 10. Areas for cleaning and sterilizing instruments. 209 11. Adequate areas for the secure storage of medical 210 records and necessary equipment and supplies. 211 12. The display in the abortion clinic, in a place that is 212 conspicuous to all patients, of the clinic’s current license 213 issued by the agency. 214 13. Conspicuous notice to be provided on any form or medium 215 of advertisement of the abortion clinic, which must state that 216 the abortion clinic is prohibited from performing abortions in 217 the third trimester or after viability. 218 Section 4. Subsection (7) of section 456.013, Florida 219 Statutes, is amended to read: 220 456.013 Department; general licensing provisions.— 221 (7)(a) The boards, or the department when there is no 222 board, shall require the completion of a 2-hour course relating 223 to prevention of medical errors as part of the licensure and 224 renewal process. The 2-hour course shall count towards the total 225 number of continuing education hours required for the 226 profession. The course shall be approved by the board or 227 department, as appropriate, and shall include a study of root 228 cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient 229 safety. In addition, the course approved by the Board of 230 Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine shall include 231 information relating to the five most misdiagnosed conditions 232 during the previous biennium, as determined by the board. If the 233 course is being offered by a facility licensed pursuant to 234 chapter 395 for its employees, the board may approve up to 1 235 hour of the 2-hour course to be specifically related to error 236 reduction and prevention methods used in that facility. 237 (b) In accordance with the requirement under s. 390.0111, 238 the boards, or the department if there is no board, shall 239 require a physician who offers to perform or performs 240 terminations of pregnancy in an abortion clinic to annually 241 complete a 3-hour course related to ethics as part of the 242 licensure and renewal process. The 3-hour course shall count 243 toward the total number of continuing education hours required 244 for the profession. The applicable board, or the department if 245 there is no board, shall approve the course, as appropriate. 246 Section 5. Section 797.02, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 247 Section 6. Section 797.03, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 248 Section 7. If any provision of this act is held invalid 249 with respect to any person or circumstance, the invalidity does 250 not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can 251 be given effect without the invalid provision or application, 252 and to this end the provisions of this act are declared 253 severable. 254 Section 8. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.