Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1426
By Senator Jones
35-01379-21 20211426__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pregnant women in custody; creating
3 s. 907.033, F.S.; requiring that every female who is
4 arrested and not released on bond within 72 hours
5 after arrest be administered a pregnancy test within a
6 certain amount of time, if so requested; requiring
7 that each facility notify each arrested female upon
8 booking of her right to request a pregnancy test;
9 providing for the kinds of pregnancy tests that may be
10 given; defining the term “female”; creating s. 925.13,
11 F.S.; defining the term “pregnant woman”; requiring
12 that, if a pregnant woman is convicted of a crime and
13 sentenced to incarceration of any length, the pregnant
14 woman’s sentence be deferred until a certain time
15 after delivery; requiring that, within 10 days after
16 the deferral period ends and the woman is
17 incarcerated, she be offered and receive specified
18 services; requiring municipal and county detention
19 facilities to collect and report specified information
20 to the Department of Corrections, which must
21 incorporate such information from its facilities;
22 requiring the department to publish the information on
23 its public website and update it on a quarterly basis;
24 providing requirements for the report; providing an
25 effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Section 907.033, Florida Statutes, is created to
30 read:
31 907.033 Pregnancy testing of female arrestees.—Every female
32 who is arrested and not released on bond within 72 hours after
33 arrest, upon her request, must be administered a pregnancy test
34 by the facility where she is being held within 24 hours after
35 the request. The facility must notify each such arrestee upon
36 booking of her right to request a pregnancy test. The pregnancy
37 test may be conducted through urine or blood tests, by
38 ultrasound scan, or by any other standard pregnancy testing
39 protocols adopted by the facility. As used in this section, the
40 term “female” includes a juvenile or adult woman.
41 Section 2. Section 925.13, Florida Statutes, is created to
42 read:
43 925.13 Sentence deferral for pregnant women.—
44 (1) As used in this section, the term “pregnant woman”
45 means a juvenile or adult woman whose pregnancy has been
46 verified by a pregnancy test or through a medical examination
47 conducted by a physician.
48 (2) Notwithstanding any other law, the sentence of a
49 pregnant woman who is convicted of a crime and sentenced to
50 incarceration of any length must comply with the following
51 requirements:
52 (a) The pregnant woman’s sentence must be deferred until 12
53 weeks after delivery of the baby so that during the deferral
54 period, the pregnant woman may receive necessary health care for
55 herself and the unborn child.
56 (b) Within 10 days after the deferral period ends and the
57 woman is incarcerated to serve the sentence, she must be offered
58 appropriate assessment by a licensed health care provider during
59 the postpartum period and, upon the request of the incarcerated
60 woman, the licensed health care provider shall provide a
61 postpartum pregnancy assessment, including information regarding
62 any necessary medical tests, procedures, lactation support, or
63 treatments associated with her postpartum condition. Such
64 assessments and treatments must be developed and offered in
65 consultation with community support organizations, licensed
66 health care professionals, social services programs, and local
67 and state government agencies, including nonprofit
68 organizations.
69 (3)(a) Each municipal and county detention facility, as
70 those terms are defined in s. 951.23, shall collect all of the
71 following information and report it to the department, which
72 shall compile it with such information from its own institutions
73 and publish it quarterly on its public website:
74 1. The total number of pregnant women who receive a
75 sentence deferral under paragraph (2)(a);
76 2. The total number of women who receive and who decline
77 assistance under paragraph (2)(b);
78 3. The total number of births, including the number of live
79 births and stillbirths, to women whose sentences are deferred,
80 and the gestational age and birth weight of each infant at the
81 time of birth or stillbirth;
82 4. The total number of such women who experience
83 complications during pregnancy and type of complications
84 experienced; and
85 5. The total number of such women who experience
86 miscarriages.
87 (b) The information published pursuant to paragraph (a)
88 must exclude patient identifying information and must comply
89 with state and federal confidentiality laws.
90 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.