Exceptions to the Limitation on Termination of Pregnancies:
SB 288 would expand Florida’s statutory exceptions to the state’s post-6-week abortion ban. The bill revises the definition of “fatal fetal abnormality” to mean a terminal condition that, in reasonable medical judgment, is incompatible with prolonged life outside the womb and will result in death upon birth or shortly thereafter. It also changes the medical-exception process so that one physician, rather than two physicians, may make the required written determination in specified circumstances.
Under the bill, a physician could certify that an abortion is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment or morbidity of a major bodily function, including fertility, and could also certify a fatal fetal abnormality without requiring a second physician’s written certification. The bill keeps the existing rape, incest, and human trafficking exception for pregnancies up to 15 weeks, along with the documentation and reporting requirements tied to those cases. The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
SB 288 would amend sections 390.011 and 390.0111 of the Florida Statutes, narrowing the procedural burden for accessing certain abortion exceptions after six weeks of gestation. It would reduce the number of physicians needed to document qualifying medical exceptions and broaden/clarify the fatal fetal abnormality standard, affecting physicians, pregnant patients seeking exception-based care, and hospitals or clinics that provide abortion services. The bill would not repeal Florida’s general 6-week limitation, but it would make the exception framework less restrictive in the specified medical cases.
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote data, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge detailed sentiment. Based on the bill’s content and its referral to Health Policy, the measure appears to have been a policy proposal aimed at easing access to abortion exceptions, but it ultimately did not advance and died in committee on June 16, 2025. The lack of recorded votes suggests there was no final legislative consensus in favor of the proposal.
The main points of contention are likely to have been the bill’s expansion of abortion exceptions and the reduction from two physicians to one for medical certifications. Supporters would likely view the bill as improving timely access to care in life-threatening, medically complex, or fatal fetal anomaly cases, while opponents would likely argue it weakens safeguards around the state’s abortion restrictions. The definition of “fatal fetal abnormality,” the inclusion of fertility-related impairment, and the treatment of rape, incest, and trafficking documentation/reporting requirements are all areas that could generate debate.