In the News
FACT SHEET: Florida Republicans Propose More Extreme Abortion Ban
Today, as the state’s legislative session began, Florida Republicans introduced an extreme abortion ban that goes even farther than the state’s current 15-week ban that has no exceptions for rape or incest. Florida Republicans were encouraged to put forth an even more extreme abortion ban when Ron DeSantis promised to sign what the legislature brought forward.
HERE ARE THE FACTS ABOUT REPUBLICANS’ EXTREME NEW ABORTION BAN:
- Florida Republicans’ new proposed abortion ban still prohibits abortions in the case of rape or incest after 15 weeks. The new bill allows exceptions for rape and incest victims, but only if they obtain care before the 15 week mark. After that, the ban still applies, further traumatizing victims of rape and incest. This makes the bill’s exceptions stricter than laws passed in South Carolina and Georgia.
- Victims of rape and incest will be required to provide documentation proving their claims before obtaining an abortion. Victims of rape and incest who seek an abortion after the six-week deadline will be required to provide a “copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation providing evidence that she is obtaining the termination of pregnancy because she is a victim of rape or incest.”
- This new ban would require patients to receive medication abortions in-person by a doctor. This would end the ability of women to receive their medication abortion prescriptions through the USPS or other shipping methods.
- Under this ban, doctors would be prohibited from providing telehealth abortions to their patients. This would limit the options available to women seeking care and deny them the ability to be seen sooner via telehealth appointments and virtual visits.
- The new ban could penalize anyone violating the ban with a third-degree felony. The new, more extreme ban broadly states that any person “who willfully performs, or actively participates in, a termination of pregnancy in violation of the requirements of this section” is committing a third-degree felony.