TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A bill to outlaw a type of second-trimester abortion in Florida has passed the state’s House.
Legislators voted 72-42 on Thursday for the proposal (HB 1429) that would prohibit a physician from using forceps and other instruments to remove the fetus from the womb. The bill uses the non-medical term “dismemberment abortion” to describe the procedure.
The vote was mostly on party lines, with three Republicans voting against and two Democrats voted for the legislation. It heads next to the Florida Senate.
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The state’s Agency for Health Care Administration reports 69,770 abortions were performed in 2016 with 5,192 occurring in the second trimester. Most occur in the first trimester.
Several other states have passed bills that prohibit common procedures used during the second trimester, but those bills have been challenged.
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