Florida issues order on exceptions to six-week abortion ban, accuses critics of promoting "fear campaign" against law

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issued an order this Thursday explaining the exceptions to the Heartbeat Protection Act, a new legislation that prohibits abortion after six weeks in the Sunshine State and has been highly questioned by the Biden administration and the progressive media at the national level.

The new order stipulates that there are exceptions for certain medical conditions that endanger the health of the pregnant woman and the fetus.

According to the order issued, before the law change, abortions were allowed up to the fifteenth week of pregnancy, however, preterm premature rupture of membranes (PROM), ectopic pregnancy and molar pregnancy “are medical conditions that can occur when the gestational age of an unborn child is greater than 6 weeks and can present an immediate danger to the health, safety, and welfare of women and unborn children in hospitals and abortion clinics if immediate and proper care and treatment is not rendered.”

For this reason, Florida health regulators explained that, right now, there is an immediate danger to the health and safety of pregnant women and babies thanks to a “scare campaign” and “disinformation” promoted by the mass media, the Biden administration and pro-abortion groups that seek to misrepresent the content of the Heartbeat Protection Law “and the State’s efforts to protect life, moms, and families.”

“The Agency is initiating rulemaking to safeguard against any immediate harm that could come to pregnant women due to disinformation. This rulemaking will ensure health care providers establish medical records procedures that will adequately protect the care and safety of both mothers and their unborn babies during medical emergencies,” the health agency explained.

State regulators later explained the new exceptions that apply to the ban:

- When a physician attempts to induce the live birth of a fetus, regardless of gestational age, to treat premature rupture of membranes, and the fetus does not survive, the incident will not constitute an abortion and will not be reported under this rule.

- Treatment of an ectopic pregnancy will not be considered an abortion and will not be reported under this rule.

- Treatment of a trophoblastic tumor will not be considered an abortion and will not be reported under this rule.

In addition to these recently added cases, the ban approved by Governor Ron DeSantis already included exceptions in cases of rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Likewise, as a general rule, the six-week ban also allows an exception for doctors to perform an abortion if it is necessary to save the life of the mother or prevent “a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment.”

The abortion ban, although approved last year by DeSantis, went into effect on May 1 after the Supreme Court ruled on a challenge to a separate measure banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court sided with the governor, and the new ban went into effect.