Florida Senate Bill 34, the termination of pregnancies act, outlines the new penalties that have been proposed for assisting a pregnant woman based on an unlawful termination of pregnancy.
State Senator Lauren Book, a Democrat from Davie and the minority leader, proposed the bill, which states that “any person who willfully performs or actively performs an abortion or an act relating to the termination of pregnancies, clarifying that specific penalties relating to the unlawful termination of pregnancy do not apply to the pregnant woman who terminates the pregnancy, effective in 2024.”
Jalauria Mills is a third-year student at Florida A&M University. Mills used to work with Planned Parenthood for reproductive justice, specifically at HBCUs.
Mills believes that this bill is meant to criminalize not only doctors but civilians, too. It is abhorent, she said.
“By putting everyday people who are only trying to aid others in accessing reproductive care at risk, it’s clear that this Legislature is trying to intimidate us out of fighting for everyone’s right to an abortion. This will only increase the number of unsafe and covert abortions, which ultimately impacts marginalized groups disproportionately,” Mills said.
“To limit abortion in any capacity creates more harm than good because there is no way to foresee every possible medical circumstance that may indicate an abortion throughout pregnancy, so to limit it at 15 weeks or six weeks or 10 weeks is extremely assumptive on this Legislature’s part. It assumes that they know every possible circumstance of every pregnant person in this state, and that is simply impossible. By limiting abortion by several weeks, particularly limits before or around the second trimester, we are failing millions of people and leaving them to fend for themselves with their healthcare,” she added.
For instance, an Ohio woman was recently charged with “abuse of corpse.” The woman had tried to plunge her still-born fetus down the toilet after miscarrying at 22 weeks while using the restroom.
According to the forensic pathologist, the autopsy indicates that there were no injuries to the fetus and that the baby died before passing through the birth canal. Additionally, a known blog on Instagram, On-site, received several controversial opinions after saying, “If she had received the necessary care, this probably wouldn’t have happened in her bathroom. Access to proper medical support for terminating an unviable pregnancy and receiving appropriate hospital care is crucial. It’s disheartening to see women facing trauma due to a healthcare and justice system dominated by white males, perpetuating further distress instead of understanding and empathy.”
The results from this case are still pending.
To be concise, SB 34 states that if you participate in the termination of pregnancy, it will result in a third-degree felony. If you are pregnant and are looking for further options, such as abortion or adoption, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Planned Parenthood.