HB 0179 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to health care; providing a popular name;
3	amending s. 390.012, F.S.; revising requirements for rules
4	of the Agency for Health Care Administration relating to
5	abortion clinics performing abortions after the first
6	trimester of pregnancy; requiring abortion clinics to
7	develop policies to protect the health, care, and
8	treatment of patients; deleting the requirement that
9	records relating to abortion clinics performing only first
10	trimester pregnancies be maintained as medical records;
11	providing that rules regulating abortion clinics may not
12	impose an unconstitutional burden rather than a legally
13	significant burden on a woman's right to choose to
14	terminate her pregnancy; providing for severability;
15	providing an effective date.
16
17	WHEREAS, abortion is an invasive surgical procedure that
18	can lead to numerous and serious medical complications,
19	including, but not limited to, bleeding, hemorrhage, infection,
20	uterine perforation, blood clots, cervical tears, incomplete
21	abortion (retained tissue), failure to actually terminate the
22	pregnancy, free fluid in the abdomen, missed ectopic
23	pregnancies, cardiac arrest, sepsis, respiratory arrest,
24	reactions to anesthesia, fertility problems, emotional problems,
25	and even death, and
26	WHEREAS, the state has a legitimate interest in ensuring
27	that abortions, like any other medical procedure, be performed
28	under circumstances that ensure maximum safety for the patient,
29	and
30	WHEREAS, the risks for abortion are greater after the first
31	trimester of pregnancy, and
32	WHEREAS, the risk of hemorrhage, in particular, is greater
33	after the first trimester of pregnancy, and the resultant
34	complications may require a hysterectomy, other reparative
35	surgery, or a blood transfusion, NOW, THEREFORE,
36
37	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39	Section 1. This act shall be known by the popular name the
40	"Women's Health and Safety Act."
41	Section 2. Section 390.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
42	to read:
43	390.012 Powers of agency; rules; disposal of fetal
44	remains.--
45	(1) The agency shall have the authority to develop and
46	enforce rules for the health, care, and treatment of persons in
47	abortion clinics and for the safe operation of such clinics. For
48	clinics that perform abortions in the first trimester of
49	pregnancy only, these rules shall be comparable to rules that
50	whichapply to all surgical procedures requiring approximately
51	the same degree of skill and care as the performance of first
52	trimester abortions.
53	(2) For clinics that perform or claim to perform abortions
54	after the first trimester of pregnancy, the agency shall adopt
55	rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the
56	provisions of this section, which shall include reasonable and
57	fair minimum standards for ensuring:
58	(a) Sufficient numbers and qualified types of personnel
59	are on duty and available at all times to provide necessary and
60	adequate patient care and safety.
61	(b) Appropriate medical screening and evaluation of each
62	abortion clinic patient takes place.
63	(c) Appropriate supplies, facilities, space, and equipment
64	are available, including supplies and equipment that are
65	required to be immediately available for use in an emergency.
66	(d) Appropriate standards for followup care are
67	established and followed.
68	(e) The creation, protection, and preservation of patient
69	records, which shall be treated as medical records under
70	chapters 458 and 459.
71	(3)The rules shall be reasonably related to the
72	preservation of maternal health of the clients. The rules shall
73	be in accordance with s. 797.03 and may not impose an
74	unconstitutional a legally significantburden on a woman's
75	freedom to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy. The rules
76	shall provide for:
77	(a)the performance of pregnancy termination procedures
78	only by a licensed physician.
79	(b) The making, protection, and preservation of patient
80	records, which shall be treated as medical records under chapter
81	458.
82	(4)(2)The agency may adopt and enforce rules, in the
83	interest of protecting the public health, to ensure the prompt
84	and proper disposal of fetal remains and tissue resulting from
85	pregnancy termination.
86	(5)(3)If any owner, operator, or employee of an abortion
87	clinic fails to dispose of fetal remains and tissue in a manner
88	consistent with the disposal of other human tissue in a
89	competent professional manner, the license of such clinic may be
90	suspended or revoked, and such person is guilty of a misdemeanor
91	of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
92	775.083.
93	Section 3. If any provision of this act or the application
94	thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
95	invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of
96	the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
97	or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
98	declared severable.
99	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.