Heartbeat Protection Act

The Heartbeat Protection Act (SB 300) is a Florida state law passed in 2023 that makes abortion after 6 weeks illegal except in the event of rape, incest, human trafficking, a fatal fetal abnormality diagnosis, or when the pregnant woman's life is in danger. It further prevents state funds from being used to finance agencies which provide abortion or to help a pregnant woman travel to another state to receive an abortion, and outlaws the delivery of abortion pills through the mail.

See also: Abortion in Florida
Heartbeat Protection Act
Florida Legislature
  • An act relating to pregnancy and parenting support; creating s. 286.31, F.S.; defining the terms “educational institution” and “governmental entity”; prohibiting any person, governmental entity, or educational institution from expending state funds for a specified purpose; providing exceptions; amending s. 381.96, F.S.; revising the definitions of the terms “eligible client” and “pregnancy and parenting support services”; requiring the Department of Health to contract for the management and delivery of parenting support services, in addition to pregnancy support services; revising the contract requirements to conform to changes made by the act; requiring the department to report specified information to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date each year; amending s. 390.0111, F.S.; prohibiting physicians from knowingly performing or inducing a termination of pregnancy after the gestational age of the fetus is determined to be more than 6 weeks, rather than 15 weeks, with exceptions; providing an exception if the woman obtaining the abortion is doing so because she is a victim of rape or incest, subject to certain conditions; requiring physicians to report incidents of rape or incest of minors to the central abuse hotline; prohibiting any person other than a physician from inducing a termination of pregnancy; prohibiting physicians from using telehealth to perform abortions; requiring that medications intended for use in a medical abortion be dispensed in person by a physician; prohibiting the dispensing of such medication through the United States Postal Service or any other courier or shipping service; conforming provisions to changes made by the act; repealing s. 390.01112, F.S., relating to termination of pregnancies during viability; amending s. 390.012, F.S.; revising rules the Agency for Health Care Administration may develop and enforce to regulate abortion clinics; amending s. 456.47, F.S.; prohibiting telehealth providers from using telehealth to provide abortions; providing appropriations; providing effective dates.
CitationSenate Bill 300 (as a bill)
 Chapter n. 2023-21 (as an Act of the Florida Legislature)
Enacted byFlorida Senate
Enacted byFlorida House of Representatives
Signed byRon DeSantis
SignedApril 13, 2023
Legislative history
First chamber: Florida Senate
Introduced byErin Grall
PassedApril 3, 2023
Voting summary
  • 26 Members voted for
  • 13 Members voted against
Second chamber: Florida House of Representatives
PassedApril 13, 2023
Voting summary
  • 70 Members voted for
  • 40 Members voted against

The bill passed the Florida Legislature on April 13, 2023. Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law on the same day in a meeting behind closed-doors with a few selected guests.[1][2][3]

It will come into force only if the Florida Supreme Court overturns previous rulings which found abortion to be a protected right under the State Constitution.

References
  1. "Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs six-week abortion ban into law". April 13, 2023 – via www.bbc.com.
  2. Greenwood, Max (April 15, 2023). "DeSantis faces political quagmire on abortion".
  3. "Florida Governor Desantis signs 6-week abortion ban law". April 14, 2023 – via www.reuters.com.
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