Florida Statute on Abortion: Six-Week Limit, Exceptions, and Consent

Florida abortion law bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a point when many people do not yet know they are pregnant. The six-week limit took effect on May 1, 2024. Narrow exceptions allow the procedure later in pregnancy for medical emergencies, fatal fetal abnormalities, and pregnancies resulting from rape, incest, or human trafficking. Every abortion in Florida also requires in-person informed consent given at least 24 hours before the procedure, and only a licensed physician may perform it.¹

The Six-Week Limit and How It Is Measured

Under Section 390.0111 of the Florida Statutes, abortion is generally prohibited once gestational age reaches six weeks. Gestational age is counted from the first day of the last menstrual period, not from conception, so the window closes about two weeks after a missed period. The rule came from the Heartbeat Protection Act (Senate Bill 300), passed in 2023, and activated once the Florida Supreme Court upheld the earlier 15-week ban in April 2024.¹

Florida law defines abortion as terminating a pregnancy with an intention other than producing a live birth or removing a dead fetus.² That definition matters because miscarriage management and treatment of an ectopic pregnancy are not abortions under the statute, even though they involve some of the same medications and procedures.

Exceptions That Allow Abortion After Six Weeks

The six-week limit is not absolute. Three categories of exceptions exist, and each carries its own paperwork requirements. A physician who performs an abortion under one of these exceptions without the required certifications faces the same criminal penalties as performing an illegal abortion.¹

Life or serious health risk. A physician must certify in writing that the abortion is necessary to save the patient’s life or prevent imminent, substantial, and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. If a second physician is available, two must certify; if not, one certification is enough. Psychological conditions alone do not qualify. There is no gestational limit for this exception.
Fatal fetal abnormality. Two physicians must certify in writing that the fetus has a condition incompatible with life. This exception applies only before the third trimester.
Rape, incest, or human trafficking. The procedure may be performed up to 15 weeks of gestational age. The patient must provide documentation, such as a restraining order, police report, medical record, or court order, at scheduling or upon arrival.

The 24-Hour Informed Consent Requirement

Florida requires voluntary and informed written consent before any abortion, and a signature on a form is not enough by itself. The physician who will perform the procedure, or the referring physician, must be physically present in the same room as the patient and personally provide specific medical information at least 24 hours before the procedure. That information covers the nature and risks of the procedure, the risks of continuing the pregnancy, and the probable gestational age of the fetus.¹

In practice, that means two visits: one for counseling and one for the procedure itself. The only way around the waiting period is a medical emergency where a 24-hour delay would create a serious health risk.

Who Can Perform an Abortion

Only a licensed physician may perform or induce an abortion in Florida. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other advanced practice clinicians cannot perform the procedure. The physician must hold an active license under Chapter 458 (allopathic medicine) or Chapter 459 (osteopathic medicine).¹

Clinics that perform second-trimester abortions must hold a separate abortion clinic license from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, meet operational standards for staffing, equipment, sanitation, and emergency protocols, and maintain an emergency transfer arrangement with a nearby hospital.³

Medication Abortion and the Ban on Mail-Order Pills

Florida has some of the strictest medication abortion rules in the country. The statute prohibits physicians from using telehealth to prescribe or manage a medication abortion, and it requires the medications to be dispensed in person. Shipping the drugs through the U.S. Postal Service or any other delivery service is prohibited.¹

This creates a direct conflict with federal policy. The FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for mifepristone, updated in January 2023, allows certified pharmacies to dispense the drug by mail with shipment tracking, and approves the medication for use through ten weeks of gestation.⁴ Florida law overrides that permission as a practical matter: any physician who mails the medication or prescribes it via telehealth faces criminal penalties under state law.

Rules for Minors Under 18

A minor cannot obtain an abortion in Florida without both parental notification and parental consent. These are two separate requirements under the Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act, Section 390.01114.⁵

For notification, the physician must give actual notice to a parent or legal guardian, in person or by phone, at least 48 hours before the procedure. As an alternative, the physician can provide constructive notice in writing, sent by first-class and certified mail with restricted delivery, at least 72 hours in advance.

For consent, a parent or legal guardian must sign a notarized document agreeing to the procedure. The parent must show government-issued identification and initial every page of the form.⁶

Judicial Bypass

A minor who cannot safely involve a parent may petition a circuit court for a judicial bypass. The petition can be filed under a pseudonym, the hearing is confidential, and the court must rule within three business days unless the minor asks for more time. The judge must grant the waiver if the minor is sufficiently mature to make the decision independently or if bypassing parental involvement is in her best interest. A denial can be appealed.⁵

Emergency Care Is Still Required Under Federal Law

State restrictions do not override a hospital’s duty to provide emergency care. Under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), any hospital that accepts Medicare must provide stabilizing treatment to a patient with an emergency medical condition, or arrange a transfer if it cannot. That includes pregnancy complications where terminating the pregnancy is the necessary stabilizing treatment to prevent sepsis, uncontrollable bleeding, kidney failure, or similar serious outcomes.⁷

The Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance in July 2022 clarifying that EMTALA obligations include providing abortion when it is the necessary stabilizing treatment.⁸ Whether EMTALA preempts state restrictions where they conflict remains a contested legal question.

Traveling Out of State

Florida residents keep a constitutional right to travel to another state where the procedure is legal. The Justice Department has stated that this right is embedded in Supreme Court precedent and that states cannot prevent third parties from helping someone exercise it.⁹ Florida’s statute contains no provision penalizing residents for obtaining an abortion out of state.

A federal HIPAA rule finalized in 2024 also limits what Florida providers can hand over. Health care providers, insurers, and their business associates generally cannot disclose protected health information for the purpose of investigating or imposing liability on someone for seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care that was lawful where it was provided.¹⁰ Health plans and clearinghouses must update their Notice of Privacy Practices to describe these protections by February 16, 2026.¹¹

Paying for an Abortion

The federal Hyde Amendment prohibits Medicaid funds from covering elective abortion. Federal Medicaid dollars can only pay for an abortion when the pregnancy endangers the patient’s life or results from rape or incest. Florida does not use state Medicaid funds to cover abortion beyond what federal law requires. Private insurance coverage varies by plan; Florida does not have a blanket ban on private plans covering the procedure, but many exclude or limit it.

Tax Deductions

The IRS treats the cost of a legal abortion as a deductible medical expense if you itemize on Schedule A.¹² Medical expenses are only deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.

Travel for the procedure counts too. Deductible transportation includes airfare, bus and train tickets, taxi and rideshare fares. If you drive, you can claim actual gas and oil costs or the IRS standard medical mileage rate, which is 20.5 cents per mile for 2026.¹³ Parking and tolls are deductible on top of the mileage rate. Lodging is deductible up to $50 per night per person, or $100 per night if a companion needs to travel with you. Meals are not deductible.¹²

Penalties for Violating the Law

Anyone who knowingly performs or actively participates in an abortion that violates Florida’s restrictions commits a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.¹ That applies to physicians who perform the procedure without proper certification paperwork, without obtaining informed consent, or after the gestational limit without a qualifying exception. The pregnant patient cannot be criminally prosecuted for obtaining an abortion.

Physicians also face professional discipline. The Board of Medicine can suspend a license for failing to obtain informed consent or parental consent documentation. AHCA can revoke a clinic’s license, impose fines, or suspend operations for noncompliance with reporting or facility standards, and the state can seek an injunction to shut down clinics operating outside the law without waiting on a criminal case.³

1
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 390.0111 – Termination of Pregnancies
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 390 Section 390.011 – Definitions
3
Cornell Law School. Florida Admin Code Rule 59A-9.034 – Reports
4
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Information About Mifepristone for Medical Termination of Pregnancy Through Ten Weeks Gestation
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 390 Section 390.01114 – Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act
6
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 390.01114 – Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1395dd – Examination and Treatment for Emergency Medical Conditions and Women in Labor
8
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Secretary Letter to Health Care Providers About Emergency Medical Care
9
United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Case on Right to Travel to Access Legal Abortions
10
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA Privacy Rule Final Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy – Fact Sheet
11
Federal Register. HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy
12
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 – Medical and Dental Expenses
13
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Standard Mileage Rates