Florida senator files 15-week abortion ban law at start of legislative session

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — At the start of the 2022 Florida legislative session, Lakeland Republican Kelli Stargel filed legislation that would mimic an abortion bill filed in Mississippi, currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

State Sen. Stargel’s bill, Senate Bill 146, would add a provision to the Florida Statutes to ban abortions after a fetus has reached 15 weeks of gestational age. The law also defines two forms of abortion, surgical and medical abortion, to mean an abortion caused by a pharmaceutical, such as the colloquially named “Plan B” pill.

In particular, the proposed legislation would bar physicians from performing “a termination of pregnancy if the physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is more than 15 weeks,” though it does provide an exception in cases where a fetus “has a fatal fetal abnormality” that prevents it from achieving viability.

To meet this exception, two physicians must certify in writing that in their “reasonable medical judgment,” the fetus would not survive.

Read more: https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/florida-senator-files-15-week-abortion-ban-law-at-start-of-legislative-session/