Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani has filed legislation that would forbid Florida from criminalizing people who end their own pregnancy through self-managed abortion.
Currently under Florida law, anyone who performs or participates in the termination of a pregnancy after 15 weeks, can be charged with a third degree felony.
Eskamani's measure (HB 111) would protect women who end their pregnancies at home through methods including the use of abortion pills.
The bill "clarifies that certain penalties relating to unlawful termination of pregnancy do not apply to pregnant woman who terminates pregnancy."
The proposal is a companion version of a bill (SB 34) filedin the Senate last month by Minority Leader Lauren Book.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republican leaders have said they don’t support criminalizing women who get abortions. DeSantis has said the law is aimed at medical providers.
A six-week ban, signed into law this spring, is contingent on a Florida Supreme Court ruling in a challenge to the 15-week law. The six-week ban would go into effect if justices uphold the 15-week ban.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in July found two-thirds of Americans think abortion should be legal in most cases, and 1 in 10 say it should always be illegal.
Read Florida's abortion laws here.
Copyright 2023 WMFE. To see more, visit WMFE.
