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Florida's 15-week ban on most abortions could be a race against the clock for doctors, patients

Some abnormalities aren't detected until a woman has a 20-week anatomy scan.

TAMPA, Fla. — A race against the clock — it's what some doctors are calling Florida's proposed ban on most abortions after 15 weeks.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a recently passed bill soon, and it would go into effect on July 1.

The legislation bans abortion if a doctor finds the gestational age of a fetus is more than 15 weeks. Exceptions are allowed if the woman's life is considered to be in danger or if the fetus is considered to have a "fatal fetal abnormality." 

RELATED: Gov. DeSantis to sign 15-week abortion restriction bill 'in short order'

We wanted to know how many women would be impacted by this bill, so we obtained data from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration.

In 2021, there were 79,648 abortions in Florida. Of those, 93.9% were in the first trimester and wouldn't be affected by this bill. A total of 4,538 abortions were performed statewide in the second trimester. AHCA listed none in the third.

Of the second trimester abortions, 484 were performed due to "serious fetal genetic defect, deformity or abnormality."

It’s unclear if those would be exempt from the bill. The language says abortions would be allowed if the fetus has a “fatal fetal abnormality.”

In other words, at least 4,033 women would've been affected by the Florida bill if it had been on the books last year.

"I'm completely heartbroken for my patients. A large part of my practice is taking care of patients who often have highly desired pregnancies who are unfortunately diagnosed with a fetal abnormality," said Dr. Rachel Rapkin, a OB/GYN in Tampa and member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The clock starts ticking before a woman even knows she's pregnant. Most doctors don't see a woman to confirm she's pregnant until about eight weeks. A patient might get a first screening for abnormalities around 12 weeks and a thorough anatomy scan doesn't happen until 18-20 weeks.

"For some people, that ultrasound at 18-20 weeks is when they receive really devastating news," Rapkin said.

At that point, patients are beyond Florida's ban and unless the abnormality is considered fatal, they are not legally allowed to have an abortion.

"When we have people who need an abortion after 15 weeks that don't fit into the really narrow confines of this bill, we'll need to refer them out of state."

Another obstacle is just trying to get an appointment. Many doctors are booked and when you add extra appointments with specialists, that race against the clock becomes very real.

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