Florida has turn out to be the most recent state to push again in opposition to what it deems as “disinformation” and false claims about prohibiting mandatory medical procedures for girls after the governor signed a heartbeat abortion ban into legislation.
The Florida Company for Healthcare Administration revealed a brand new rule Thursday — the day after the state’s new six-week abortion ban took impact — that outlines “Medical Records Procedures for Treatment of Premature Rupture of Membranes and Other Life Threatening Conditions.”
The rule is prefaced with a warning about “an immediate danger to the health, safety, and welfare of pregnant women and babies due to a deeply dishonest scare campaign and disinformation being perpetuated by the media, the Biden administration, and advocacy groups to misrepresent the Heartbeat Protection Act and the state’s efforts to protect life, moms and families.”
“Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), ectopic pregnancy, and molar pregnancy are medical conditions that can occur when the gestational age of an unborn child is greater than six 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,” the company states.
The rule provides, “Each hospital shall maintain written policies and procedures governing the maintenance of medical records for the treatment of premature rupture of membranes, ectopic pregnancies, trophoblastic tumors, and other life-threatening conditions.”
Hospitals can be required to confess sufferers experiencing a untimely rupture of membranes for “observation unless the treating physician determines that another course of action is more medically appropriate under the circumstances to ensure the health of the mother and the unborn baby.”
It continues: “When a physician attempts to induce the live birth of an unborn baby, regardless of gestational age, to treat the premature rupture of membranes, and the unborn baby does not survive, the incident does not constitute an abortion … the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion … the treatment of a trophoblastic tumor is not an abortion.”
Previous to publishing the emergency rule within the Florida Administrative Register, the Florida Company for Healthcare Administration included a “myth vs. fact” sheet in an X post in an effort to fight “lies and misinformation surrounding Florida’s Heartbeat Protection Act.” The company additionally responded to the assertion that “women will be jailed as a result of the law” by stating that “Florida’s criminal abortion penalties do not apply to pregnant women.”
The very fact sheet maintains that “Florida works to ensure the health and safety of mothers and babies by continuing to hold medical providers accountable to the standards of their oath to protect and ensure the health and well-being of their patients.” It additionally addresses the competition that “women who experience the tragic loss of a pregnancy, commonly known as a miscarriage, will be denied treatment.”
“Florida law does not prohibit the removal of the pregnancy for women who experience a miscarriage in any circumstance,” the actual fact sheet declares. The Florida Company for Healthcare Administration additionally pushes again on the declare that “women will be forced to give birth even if their life or health is in jeopardy.”
In keeping with the actual fact sheet, “Florida law includes exceptions to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. Exceptions exist for pregnancies resulting from rape, incest, human trafficking, and for emergency medical procedures to save the life of the mother.”
Florida is not the one state to determine what pro-life advocacy teams are referring to as “Med Ed” legal guidelines in an effort to tell medical professionals what procedures they’ll and can’t carry out underneath pro-life legal guidelines.
In March, South Dakota grew to become the primary state to implement a “Med Ed” legislation by way of the legislative course of.
Below Home Invoice 1224, authorised by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, the South Dakota Division of Well being is required to create a video explaining “criteria that a practitioner, exercising reasonable medical judgment, might use in determining the best course of treatment for a pregnant woman experiencing life-threatening medical conditions and for her unborn child.” Along with Home Invoice 1224, a handful of different states have additionally enacted related measures administratively.
The professional-life group Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America has recognized Oklahoma and Kentucky as further states which have enacted “Med Ed” legal guidelines utilizing the manager department. In a press release launched Thursday reacting to the brand new rule in Florida, the advocacy group signaled that the Texas Medical Board was contemplating a rule just like Florida’s.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Submit. He may be reached at: [email protected]
“Well bless their hearts.”