Despite Democrats submitting more than 12 amendments House building 5A bill banning all abortions after 15 weeks of gestation passed the House of Representatives last week in line with party policy and will be deliberated in the Senate this week.
One of the provisions of the bill jointly introduced by Congressman Erin Grall (R-Indian River) and Jenna Persons-Murikka (R-Lee) is to shorten the time in Florida. Law For abortions from 24 to 15 weeks gestation.
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Democrats have sought to amend the bill to allow some exceptions to abortion bans.
All amendments were voted against by Republicans.
Earlier this month, more than 600 Florida medical professionals Open letter Call on lawmakers to oppose the bill. The letter was signed by Shelly Holmstrom, MD, a Tampa-based obstetrician and gynecologist and chairman of the 12th District of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG).
“All kinds of interference between doctors and patients-legislative, non-evidence- and science-backed-are really inappropriate,” she told the reforming nation.
Under this bill, the only situations that would allow an abortion after 15 weeks are:
- If there are no two doctors or a second doctor to consult with, we consider abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman or to avoid serious and irreversible physical harm.
- Doctors determine that the fetus “has not achieved viability,” that is, it has the ability to survive well outside the womb.
- The two doctors will prove in writing that the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality. The bill describes fatal fetal abnormalities as “reasonable medical judgment is incompatible with life outside the womb, regardless of the provision of life-saving medical care, leading to death at birth or shortly thereafter.” Is defined as.
The ACOG wanted a particular amendment to address three aspects of the bill: 15-week gestation period, fatal fetal abnormalities, and fetal viability.
At a hearing last week, Congressman Ralph Masulo (R – Citrus) mentioned January 2020 in support of a 15-week time frame. article It was published in the British Medical Journal, which suggests that fetal pain may be detected in the brain as early as 12 weeks.
Holmstrom said he couldn’t speak from a pediatric medical perspective, but said that the pain threshold was separate from viability. She also argued that the 15-week threshold was an arbitrary definition and that some patients deviated from standard pregnancy measurements.
“Normal, [pregnancy] It’s the date from the first day of your last period … but I have a patient who may not have a regular cycle. Maybe they only have a few cycles a year, and many of them may not know they are pregnant until they enter late pregnancy. “
Holmstrom also said that the 15-week time frame was too short to determine if the fetus had a fatal abnormality. She said that abnormalities are usually detected by anatomical ultrasound, which usually does not occur until 18-20 weeks gestation.
Apart from a medical point of view, Holmstrom talked about the economic and emotional impact of such a bill on her patients. A study Women at the University of California, San Francisco have found that women who have been denied an abortion and forced to reach maturity are four times more likely to live below federal poverty levels.
“I have a lot of work with Tampa and some of the disadvantaged patient populations in the surrounding area, and my heart is always focused on the patient,” said Holmstrom. “We find that much of what happens to them is the situation of their social situation. I always maximize the comprehensive medical reproductive care available to all patients, especially disadvantaged patients. I am very passionate about maintaining it. “
During the hearing, Congressman Darryl Campbell (D-Broward) asked Grall if he had consulted with a medical group such as ACOG in the process of drafting the bill. In response, Glall did not cite a particular medical institution, but referred to medical research and testimony from an ongoing U.S. Supreme Court proceeding, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health OrganizationAnd the current definition Enactment..
HB 5 was positively reported by the Senate Expenditure Committee with 13-6 votes last week and was placed on the calendar for a second reading on the Senate floor.
