Florida Fining Abortion Clinic for Allegedly Violating 24 Hour Waiting Period: ‘Would Likely Bankrupt’

Published Sep. 14, 2022, 9:46 a.m. ET | Updated Sep. 14, 2022

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ORLANDO (FLV) – A complaint filed this summer by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration alleges that an Orlando abortion clinic violated the state’s 24-hour waiting period 193 times during a surveyed length of time.

The Sunshine State’s original 24-hour waiting period law – HB 633 – was passed in 2015, but struck down in court. Then, in April 2022, a judge said the embattled law is constitutional and may go into effect.

The AHCA said they interviewed the Clinic Manager on May 11, 2022, where she allegedly claimed the clinic was “unaware when the 24-hour wait time was to commence.”

The survey time of the abortion clinic went from April 26-May 11, 2022, where 217 visits were examined.

According to the AHCA complaint, 193 showed abortions occurring “on the same day of the initial clinic and physician visit.”

“Therefore, not meeting the 24-hour wait time from physician visit to the performance of the procedure,” they said, listing the instances in which procedures were not abiding by the law.

They claimed that the clinic did not provide documentation that patients were informed of the “risks” of the procedure defined by Florida law: “Absent such documentation, there was no record that the Clinic obtained each patient’s informed consent to the procedure.”

The clinic is facing fines of $1,000 for each violation, totaling $193,000. The complaint was filed against the Center of Orlando for Women.

The clinic’s lawyer, Julie Gallagher, told WESH 2 that the fines “would likely bankrupt” the clinic and “put it out of business,” saying the fine is “excessive.” She claimed that the AHCA did not have specific information on when the waiting period would take effect.

Over time, Florida has imposed stricter rules on abortion, with Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a 15-week abortion ban in April. The law is currently embattled in court.

After the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in a 6-3 decision in June, DeSantis vowed that the Sunshine State would “expand pro-life protections.” Overturning Roe gives states stronger latitude on restricting abortion.

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