6 May 9-15, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | F lorida’s new abortion law went into effect on Wednesday, May 1, putting in place restrictions comparable to those in Georgia and South Carolina and making North Carolina the nearest state to permit abortions beyond the first six weeks of gestation. The six-week abortion ban in Florida re- places the state’s previous 15-week ban, which went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. It includes exceptions for patients whose lives are endangered by their preg- nancy and for victims of rape, incest, or hu- man trafficking, although a woman must provide a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, court order, or other documentation. Under the newly implemented law, those who perform or “actively participate” in the termination of a pregnancy after six weeks’ gestation can be charged with a third- degree felony. Floridians will have a chance to void the ban in November by way of an abortion- rights ballot initiative in the general election. If passed by a 60 percent supermajority, the measure will cement abortion rights into the Florida Constitution. The six-week ban, which Gov. Ron DeSan- tis signed into law in April 2023, had been on hold pending a Florida Supreme Court ruling on a challenge to the state’s 15-week ban filed by Planned Parenthood, the Center for Re- productive Rights, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida on behalf of several Florida abortion providers. In an April 1 decision, the conservative-leaning court found that the Florida Constitution’s right to privacy does not apply to abortion. That paved the way for the more restrictive six-week ban to take effect. Also on April 1, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the ballot initiative to protect abor- tion rights met the requirements for inclusion on the 2024 general election ballot. The initiative, known as Amendment 4, would establish a broad right to undergo an abortion before “fetal viability,” which is estimated to be around 24 weeks gestation. The measure also includes exceptions to that cutoff point if a patient’s health is in danger. The day after the six-week ban went into effect, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issued an emergency rule clarifying that treating certain life-threatening, pregnancy-related medical conditions will not be considered “abortions.” In publishing the rule, the agency cited a “deeply dishonest scare campaign and disin- formation being perpetuated by the media, the Biden Administration, and advocacy groups to misrepresent the Heartbeat Pro- tection Act and the State’s efforts to protect life, moms, and families.” The rule states that if a pregnant patient’s water breaks early (known as a premature rupture of membranes), a doctor is permitted to induce labor regardless of how far into the pregnancy the mother is. If the unborn baby does not survive delivery, the procedure “does not constitute an abortion,” according to the agency. The rule also allows doctors to terminate an ectopic pregnancy, a dangerous condition wherein a fertilized egg attaches to the fallo- pian tube or other surface outside a woman’s uterus. Treatment of trophoblastic tumors, which form from placental cells, is also per- mitted under the rule. Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando, said the rule offers some clarity on emergency care for pregnant women but that “healthcare should never be politicized like this.” “DeSantis is picking & choosing which life-saving care he supports and which he doesn’t by deeming some care ‘not an abor- tion’ even when procedure is the same,” Eska- mani said in a statement released on her social media. So Where Do We Stand Now? Healthcare providers and abortion-rights advocates say the new restrictions will make it difficult, if not impossible, for some women to get an abortion, considering that many are not aware they’re pregnant six weeks into pregnancy. “The women of Florida are in trouble,” Chelsea Daniels said last week in a statement on behalf of the Yes on 4 ballot-initiative campaign. “Today, we awoke to a new world, a world where the state, and not individuals, is in control of our bodies, our lives, and our futures — a world where treatable complications in pregnancies will become life-threatening, not because we don’t know how to treat them, but because we won’t be allowed.” Daniels noted that women will have to travel to abortion clinics out of state even in instances where an abortion is medi- cally necessary, placing more patients in danger and further straining a limited supply of clinics and abortion networks in the south- ern U.S. “In Texas, one woman who miscarried lost liters of blood and had to go on a breath- ing machine before doctors were legally able to intervene and help her,” she added. “And in Louisiana, we’ve seen the OB/GYN shortage that anti-abortion bans have caused for the entire state.” While the new Florida law includes ex- ceptions for women impregnated as a result of rape, incest, or human trafficking, it re- quires victims seeking an abortion to undergo the procedure within 15 weeks of gestation. “We are proud to support life and family in the State of Florida,” Governor DeSantis said when the bill passed. “I applaud the legisla- ture for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and pro- vides additional resources for young mothers and families.” With the implementation of Florida’s new restrictions, every state in the Deep South is enforcing laws that generally prohibit abor- tions outright or tightly restrict abortions early in pregnancy. Texas, Louisiana, Missis- sippi, and Alabama have total or near-total bans, while South Carolina and Georgia pro- hibit abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which typically occurs around five to six weeks of gestation. North Carolina permits abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, though there is a 72-hour waiting period. In the weeks leading up to the implementation of the new law, abortion clinics in Florida were inundated with H A N G E R T I M E ? Things you need to know about Florida’s new six-week abortion ban. BY ALEX DELUCA Residents march in Miami to protest the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health in June 2022. Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images