Kara Gross: Florida bill could open the door to civil lawsuits for abortions, exodus of OB/GYNs

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This Florida legislature continues its all-out attack on reproductive freedom. A near-total ban was not far enough for this extreme anti-abortion legislature.

Although the majority of Floridians – 57% – voted to limit government interference with abortion, Florida’s extreme anti-abortion politicians are ignoring the will of the people and seeking to restrict abortion access in Florida further. Now, they are seeking to open the door to civil lawsuits for monetary damages against doctors — and even the friends, family, and clergy members who help individuals seeking abortion care obtain the care they need.

Senate Bill 1284, by Sen. Erin Grall, and its House companion HB 1517, by Rep. Sam Greco, purport to ensure that grieving expectant mothers injured by a third party can recover for their loss of pregnancy. However, this type of recovery already exists under current law (See Tanner v. Hartog, 696 So.2d 705 (1997)). This bill is unnecessary for that stated purpose.

So, what are these bills really about?

You guessed it: abortion. These bills will make it harder for pregnant patients to access abortions by threatening their health care providers and support systems with civil lawsuits for damages. These are not hypothetical situations—we have seen dangerous wrongful death cases like these brought in Texas and Arizona. In Texas, a man sued three friends of his now ex-wife for a million dollars each for helping his then-wife access abortion pills. In Arizona, a man accompanied his former wife to her abortion appointment, then, two years later following their divorce, filed a wrongful death suit against the clinic.

It is worth noting that this bill’s Senate sponsor is the same Senator who brought us the extreme six-week abortion ban and who has made clear her opposition to abortion.

These deceptive bills make it more difficult for Floridians to access the care they need by threatening litigation against loved ones and health care providers. They incentivize and encourage civil lawsuits for money damages for abortions against doctors providing essential health care and against the friends, family members, and support systems who help their loved ones access the care they need. This could lead to doctors denying necessary health care and delaying treatment for pregnancy complications.

Additionally, the threat of having to defend against lawsuits and pay money damages will likely result in fewer OB/GYNs willing to practice in Florida or provide care to Floridians. As more and more OB/GYNs leave Florida for states where they are not subject to civil lawsuits, the quality of prenatal care in Florida will suffer.

Because these bills also encourage lawsuits against the friends, family, and support systems of pregnant Floridians, they will result in pregnant patients being more isolated and afraid to seek help from friends and family members for fear of exposing them to potential lawsuits.

Under these bills, civil lawsuits for damages could be brought by any person who impregnates someone else, including an abusive ex-partner, a rapist or an uncommitted partner. Additionally, the bills would broadly define “unborn child” as including “any stage of development,” thus treating a fertilized egg the same as an actual child.

In the vast majority of states that allow for similar wrongful death lawsuits, the “unborn child” must have reached the developmental stage of viability to bring a wrongful death action. This overly broad bill would allow for wrongful death civil lawsuits concerning fertilized eggs and embryos.

The bill sponsors disingenuously claim that these bills are necessary to support grieving families. Still, current law already allows expectant parents to seek compensation for their pain and suffering after the loss of a pregnancy. Do not let yourselves be duped. If these bills have nothing to do with restricting abortion access, the bill sponsor would simply amend the bill to state that “no cause of action shall be brought against anyone in connection with an abortion.”

The devastating impact of these bills on abortion access in Florida is clear. Treating fertilized eggs the same as actual human beings could lead to dangerous cascading restrictions on fertility services like IVF, as well as patient access to emergency care and cancer treatments.

Anti-abortion politicians aren’t satisfied with criminalizing abortion after six weeks. They won’t stop until they abolish all access to abortion and there are no OB/GYNs left in the state to provide such care.

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Kara Gross is the legislative director and senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida.