money Post-Roe, how Florida abortion laws (24-hour delay and 15-week abortion ban) affect emergency care
Amid the overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer, two Florida laws aimed at curbing abortions went into effect.
The 24-hour delay law emerged from the courts nearly seven years of appeals after it was passed and took effect in April. The law requires a woman to visit the clinic providing abortions to get counseling there about options to cancel her abortion and the risks of having one. Then, at least 24 hours later, she can come back in and have her procedure done.
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The state has brought complaints against clinics that, investigators said, did not provide documentation proving that a full 24 hours passed between visits. One faces potential disciplinary action over what an investigator said was a 22-hour delay.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade in June lifted a legal obstacle to Florida's ban on abortion 15 weeks of gestation or later. A woman can get an exception if two doctors certify that without the procedure the woman will die or that the fetus has an immediately fatal condition. Pregnancies of rape or incest are not an exception.
A physician who terminates a pregnancy that is 15 weeks or longer, outside of these exceptions, could be charged with a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Here are five things The Palm Beach Post has uncovered about the landscape in Florida post-Roe:
Florida’s new 24-hour delay requirement and 15-week abortion ban can be in direct conflict with the federal law requiring emergency rooms to treat and stabilize all patients.
Many genetic conditions, including ones that can lead to infant death, suffering and incapacitation, are not detected until the 18th week of pregnancy when it is no longer possible to get a legal abortion in Florida.
The United States has the highest rate of maternal deaths of any affluent country.
In Florida, Black women are two times more likely than white women to die of pregnancy-related problems. It's nearly four times more likely in Palm Beach County.
University of Colorado researchers estimated that a national ban on abortion could increase all maternal deaths by 24% and increase maternal deaths of Black women by 39%.
Antigone Barton is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at avbarton@gannett.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: In Florida, what to know about 24-hour delay law, 15-week abortion ban
