HB 0219 2003
   
1 CHAMBER ACTION
2         
3         
4         
5         
6          The Committee on Health Care recommends the following:
7         
8          Committee Substitute
9          Remove the entire bill and insert:
10 A bill to be entitled
11          An act relating to health care; creating the “Women's
12    Health and Safety Act"; amending s. 390.012, F.S.;
13    revising requirements for rules of the Agency for Health
14    Care Administration relating to abortion clinics in which
15    abortions are performed after the first trimester of
16    pregnancy; requiring abortion clinics to develop policies
17    to protect the health, care, and treatment of patients;
18    providing for severability; providing an effective date.
19         
20          WHEREAS, abortion is an invasive surgical procedure that
21    can lead to numerous and serious medical complications, and
22          WHEREAS, potential complications for abortions include,
23    among others, bleeding, hemorrhage, infection, uterine
24    perforation, blood clots, cervical tears, incomplete abortion,
25    failure to actually terminate the pregnancy, free fluid in the
26    abdomen, missed ectopic pregnancies, cardiac arrest, sepsis,
27    respiratory arrest, reactions to anesthesia, fertility problems,
28    emotional problems, and even death, and
29          WHEREAS, the state has a legitimate interest in making sure
30    that abortion, like any other medical procedure, is performed
31    under circumstances that ensure maximum safety for the patient,
32    and
33          WHEREAS, the risks for abortion are greater after the first
34    trimester of pregnancy, and
35          WHEREAS, the risk of hemorrhage, in particular, is greater
36    after the first trimester of pregnancy, and the resultant
37    complications may require a hysterectomy, other reparative
38    surgery, or a blood transfusion, NOW, THEREFORE,
39         
40          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41         
42          Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Women's Health
43    and Safety Act."
44          Section 2. Section 390.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
45    to read:
46          390.012 Powers of agency; rules; disposal of fetal
47    remains.--
48          (1) The agency shall have the authority to develop and
49    enforce rules for the health, care, and treatment of persons in
50    abortion clinics and for the safe operation of such clinics. For
51    clinics that perform abortions in the first trimester of
52    pregnancy only, theThese rules shall be comparable to rules
53    thatwhichapply to all surgical procedures requiring
54    approximately the same degree of skill and care as the
55    performance of first trimester abortions.
56          (2) For clinics that perform abortions after the first
57    trimester of pregnancy, the agency shall adopt rules pursuant to
58    ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this
59    section, which shall include reasonable and fair minimum
60    standards for ensuring:
61          (a) Sufficient numbers and qualified types of personnel
62    are on duty and available at all times to provide necessary and
63    adequate patient care and safety.
64          (b) Appropriate medical screening and evaluation of each
65    abortion clinic patient takes place.
66          (c) Appropriate supplies and equipment are available,
67    including supplies and equipment that are required to be
68    immediately available for use in an emergency.
69          (d) Appropriate standards for followup care are
70    established and followed.
71          (e) Adequate private space that is specifically designated
72    for interviewing, counseling, and medical evaluations.
73          (f) Appropriate lavatory areas are provided.
74          (g) Areas for pre-procedure hand washing are provided.
75          (h) Private procedure rooms are provided.
76          (i) Adequate lighting and ventilation for abortion
77    procedures are provided.
78          (j) Surgical or gynecologic examination tables and other
79    fixed equipment are provided.
80          (k) Post-procedure recovery rooms are provided.
81          (l) Emergency exits to accommodate a stretcher or gurney
82    exist.
83          (m) Areas for cleaning and sterilizing instruments are
84    provided.
85          (n) Adequate areas for the secure storage of medical
86    records and necessary equipment and supplies are provided.
87          (3)The rules shall be reasonably related to the
88    preservation of maternal health of the clients. The rules shall
89    be in accordance with s. 797.03 and may not impose an
90    unconstitutionala legally significantburden on a woman's
91    freedom to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy. The rules
92    shall provide for:
93          (a) The performance of pregnancy termination procedures
94    only by a licensed physician. Each abortion clinic shall
95    develop, adopt, and enforce policies to protect the health,
96    care, and treatment of patients, including policies for
97    obtaining the informed consent of the patient and for
98    postoperative care of patients suffering complications from an
99    abortion.
100          (b) The making, protection, and preservation of patient
101    records, which shall be treated as medical records under
102    chapterschapter 458 and 459.
103          (4)(2)The agency may adopt and enforce rules, in the
104    interest of protecting the public health, to ensure the prompt
105    and proper disposal of fetal remains and tissue resulting from
106    pregnancy termination.
107          (5)(3)If any owner, operator, or employee of an abortion
108    clinic fails to dispose of fetal remains and tissue in a manner
109    consistent with the disposal of other human tissue in a
110    competent professional manner, the license of such clinic may be
111    suspended or revoked, and such person is guilty of a misdemeanor
112    of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
113    775.083.
114          Section 3. If any provision of this act or the application
115    thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
116    invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application
117    of the act which can be given effect without the invalid
118    provision or applications, and to this end the provisions of
119    this act are declared severable.
120          Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.