Urgent Abortion Regulations Enforced by State – WFTV

TL/DR –

Florida has enacted a law that prevents abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, leading to the introduction of emergency rules regarding treatment of medical conditions that pose risks to pregnant women or unborn children. This includes situations such as premature rupture of membranes and ectopic pregnancies. The law permits abortions after six weeks if two physicians certify that termination is necessary to save the woman’s life or avert a major health risk, though opponents argue these exceptions are impractical and the six-week limit endangers women with various medical conditions who cannot obtain abortions.

New Florida Abortion Restrictions Elicit Emergency Healthcare Rules

Florida health regulators released emergency rules concerning treatment of medical conditions hazardous to pregnant women or unborn children, coinciding with the enforcement of a new law prohibiting abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy.

The emergency rules, published by the state Agency for Health Care Administration, come a day after the six-week law, limiting abortion access extensively, became operational. The focus of these regulations is on certain medical conditions that might surface after six weeks of pregnancy and can endanger women’s and unborn children’s health in hospitals and abortion clinics.

These conditions include premature rupture of membranes or premature water breaking in pregnant women, ectopic pregnancies, and treatment of trophoblastic tumors. The regulations dictate record-keeping and reporting about the treatments. Hospitals are required to maintain written policies and procedures for keeping records related to treating these conditions. For instance, when a woman is diagnosed with premature rupture of membranes, the hospital policies should ensure the patient’s admission for observation unless an alternative course of medical action is deemed more appropriate by the treating physician.

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Hospitals will also not consider it an abortion if patient treatments result in induced live births with subsequent death due to prematurely ruptured membranes, or procedures to treat ectopic pregnancies and trophoblastic tumors. These treatments should be documented in patients’ medical records.

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An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg grows outside a woman’s uterus and can lead to life-threatening bleeding if left untreated. Trophoblastic tumors, often benign but occasionally malignant, form during abnormal pregnancies.

Florida lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the six-week abortion limit in 2023, but the law wasn’t enforced until a month after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 15-week limit passed in 2022. The law allows abortions beyond six weeks under certain circumstances, such as when two physicians certify that the pregnancy termination is necessary to save the woman’s life or avert a severe risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment.

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However, critics argue that the six-week limit threatens women’s health who might have multiple medical conditions and are unable to receive abortions. The recently published rules counter these concerns, citing “disinformation” and a “deeply dishonest scare campaign”.

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