Abhortion · State legal snapshot
Banned at 6 weeks LMP, enforced. Florida prohibits most abortions after 6 weeks from last menstrual period, measured before many people know they are pregnant; the ban is in full…
§ I · Gestational limit
│ 6-week ban enforced; no constitutional protection · measured from LMP · Fla. Stat. § 390.0111(1)
§ II · Restriction inventory — 15 checked, 11 in force
◐6-week ban · LMPIn force
◐2 in-person visitsIn force
◐Method ban · D&E · D&XIn force
◐Physician-only lawIn force
◐Consent + notificationIn force
✓Telehealth prescribing banIn force
◐24-hour waiting periodIn force
●Spousal consent or noticeNone
●Abortion trafficking lawNone
◐Scripted counselingIn force
●Civil bounty (SB8-style)None
✓Private insurance restrictionIn force
◐Mandatory ultrasoundPerformed
✓Pill-mailing banIn force
○Self-managed abortion crimeUnclear
§ III · Access
Criminal exposure
Procedure
Coverage & interstate
Available now
Severely restricted
Pregnant person
Not expressly exempt
Waiting period
24 hours
Medicaid
Hyde only
Medication · telehealth
Regulated separately · telehealth barred
Self-managed
Unclear
Compelled visits
2 in person
Private insurance
Restricted
Who may perform
Physicians only
Provider max penalty
Third-degree felony, up to 5 years,…
Minors
Consent + notification
Shield state
No
Mailing pills
Banned
Fetal homicide law
Yes · abortion carved out
Judicial bypass
Available
Major pending change
Yes · see p. 2
✓ Abolition-aligned — forbids abortion or imposes liability◐ Partial — a hurdle, an enjoined law, or a carve-out● No restriction○ Unclear or not applicable
§ IV · Where the line is drawn — governing authorities
Florida Heartbeat Protection Act (6-week ban), Fla. Stat. § 390.0111(1); ch. 2023-21, Laws… — The operative prohibition: physicians may not knowingly perform or induce abortion…
■Termination of pregnancies — full section, Fla. Stat. § 390.0111 — Contains the 6-week ban, medication-abortion restrictions (in-person dispensing, no…
■Definitions for Chapter 390, Fla. Stat. § 390.011 — Defines 'abortion,' 'gestation' (measured from LMP), 'viability,' 'fatal fetal…
“A physician may not knowingly perform or induce a termination of pregnancy if the physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is more than 6 weeks unless one of the following conditions is met...”— Fla. Stat. § 390.0111(1)
Fetal personhood — how the contradiction is walled off
✓ Fla. Stat. § 775.021(5)(e)
“As used in this subsection, the term 'unborn child' means a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”
Unborn child defined at any stage
→
✓ Reached · pregnant woman
Not exempted; no known prosecutions
● Carved out · abortion
Abortion is not chargeable under the homicide statutes.
✓ Reached · third parties
Unborn child homicide, mother exempt
Florida law contains a sharp internal contradiction in its treatment of fetal personhood. The criminal code (Fla. Stat. Wrongful death: No civil wrongful death for fetus.
§ V · Criminal exposure by actor
●
Pregnant woman
Not exempted; no known prosecutions
✓
Physician
Third-degree felony; license discipline
✓
Non-physician prescriber
Non-physician prescribing prohibited
✓
Helpers · funds
Broad accomplice liability possible
●
Travel helpers
No travel ban or trafficking law
●
Civil bounty
No civil bounty law
✓ the actor faces criminal or civil exposure under state law · ● no exposure · ○ unclear or theoretical
Penalties on the books — top 5
§ VI · How the law got here ● court ■ statute ◆ executive / agency
Florida's 15-week abortion ban (HB 5, ch. 2022-69) took effect.
13 Apr 2023■Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 300, the Heartbeat Protection Act (ch.
1 Apr 2024●The Florida Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in Planned Parenthood of Southwest & Central Florida v. State, No.
1 May 2024◆Florida's 6-week abortion ban (Heartbeat Protection Act) took effect, 30 days after the Florida Supreme Court's…
5 Nov 2024■Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, appeared on the Florida ballot and received 57.1% of the vote, falling…
14 May 2025●A Florida intermediate appellate court struck down certain provisions of the parental-consent law for minors as…
15 Jan 2026■The Florida House of Representatives passed CS/HB 289 by a 76-34 vote, expanding the Wrongful Death Act to allow…
§ VII · Exceptions matrix
Named in law: ◐ the exception is written into the ban · ✓ no such exception · ● no ban for an exception to operate against. Verified (neutral): ✓ quoted text confirmed at source · ◐ semi-verified · ○ verify before publication · — not applicable.
§ VIII · Interstate & helpers
✓ No shield law
No shield law; hostile to providers
● Travel unrestricted
Travel out of state not restricted
✓ Telehealth prescribing barred
Telehealth prescribing prohibited
✓ Pill mailing banned
Mailing pills prohibited for providers
✓ Funding help exposed
Funding exposes helpers to accomplice risk
✓ Providing information
Information provision: First Amendment shield
Interstate postureFlorida has no shield law protecting its providers or patients from out-of-state abortion investigations; the state's posture is hostile to abortion provision — no protections exist for aiding…
§ IX · Who pays
Hyde-only: life, rape, incest
Life
Hyde · federal
Rape
Hyde · federal
Incest
Hyde · federal
Beyond Hyde
Not covered
Restricted; rider may be required
ACA plans: rape, incest, life only
✓Defunded: state funds restricted
§ X · Pending changes status and effect as recorded — no forecast
Parental consent law challenge (Florida intermediate appellate…The Florida First District Court of Appeal struck down parts of the parental-consent framework in May 2025;…
If upheld on appeal, could alter or invalidate Florida's parental involvement requirements for minors seeking abortion, potentially eliminating consent and/or notice…
LitigationFDA preemption and medication abortion access (national…The Fifth Circuit in Louisiana v. FDA stayed the FDA's 2023 expansion of mifepristone access (telehealth,…
If the Supreme Court ultimately holds that FDA rules preempt state restrictions on mifepristone dispensing, Florida's § 390.0111(2) in-person dispensing requirement and…
LegislationFetal wrongful death (HB 289 / SB 164, 2026 session)HB 289 passed the House (76-34) on January 15, 2026. SB 164 died in the Senate Rules Committee. The bill may…
If enacted, would allow parents to bring civil wrongful-death suits for the death of an unborn child at any stage of development, while exempting the mother and lawful…
§ XI · Key authorities ● case ■ statute ◆ agency
■Florida Heartbeat Protection Act (6-week ban) Fla. Stat. § 390.0111(1); ch. 2023-21, Laws of Fla.
■Termination of pregnancies — full section Fla. Stat. § 390.0111
■Definitions for Chapter 390 Fla. Stat. § 390.011
●Planned Parenthood v. State (Florida Supreme Court,… Planned Parenthood of Southwest & Central Florida v.…
■Fetal homicide statute Fla. Stat. § 782.09
■Definition of 'unborn child' in criminal code Fla. Stat. § 775.021(5)(e)
■Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act Fla. Stat. § 390.01114
■Florida Constitution Privacy Clause Art. I, § 23, Fla. Const.
■Amendment 4 — Right to Abortion Initiative (2024) 2024 Florida Amendment 4
■Defunding provision Fla. Stat. § 390.0111(15)
●Tanner v. Hartog (no fetal wrongful death) Tanner v. Hartog, 696 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 1997)
◆AGO 85-73 — State preemption of abortion clinic… Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 85-73 (1985)