Webster Barnaby, a Florida Republican Lawmaker, has proposed a bill prohibiting physicians from performing most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, similar to the abortion law recently passed in Texas.
According to the bill, anyone who successfully sues an abortion provider under the law would be entitled to at least $10,000, which the offending physician would payout. Like Texas, Anyone can sue abortion providers and those who willingly participate in the procedure, except for state officials.
Multiple parties would not be able to bring separate lawsuits and recover monetary damages for the same surgery because physicians can only be sued once for each abortion they provide.
Unlike Texas law, Barnaby’s bill allows for abortion exemptions in cases of rape, incest, domestic abuse, human trafficking, or a health condition that puts the mother’s life in jeopardy. However, to qualify for the exemption, you must provide documents.
The bill states that “The state of Florida has a compelling interest from the outset of a woman’s pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of the unborn child.”
Representative Anna Eskamani, a Florida Democrat, called the proposed legislation a “gross excuse of a bill” that “attacks women and birthing people.” Yesterday she tweeted that “Extreme attacks on reproductive health are not about policy, it is about control, shame, and will negatively impact communities who already experience barriers to accessing care.”
According to Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, the Texas statute is “a new approach,” and the Supreme Court verdict is “encouraging.” According to CBS Miami, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters earlier this month that he supports legislation restricting abortions. In July, DeSantis and nine other Republican governors joined a brief seeking the Supreme Court to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
On September 1, the Texas bill, known as S.B. 8, went into force, making it the most stringent abortion law in the US. The Supreme Court did not rule on the statute before it took effect but voted not to halt its implementation the next day in a 5-4 ruling, despite the fact that litigation against it is still pending.
Although the plaintiffs, a group of abortion providers, “have raised serious questions regarding the constitutionality of the Texas law at issue,” the majority ruling chose not to prevent its implementation on procedural grounds.
Both S.B. 8 and the proposed Florida law rely on citizens filing civil claims to enforce the rule, making it difficult to contest in court because it is unclear who should be the defendant in such a case.
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