Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1036
       
       
        
       By Senator Berman
       
       
       
       
       
       31-01101A-22                                          20221036__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to reproductive health care rights;
    3         creating s. 381.00515, F.S.; providing a short title;
    4         providing a legislative finding; providing that each
    5         person has certain fundamental rights related to
    6         reproductive health care; prohibiting a person, the
    7         state, a local governmental entity, or any political
    8         subdivision of the state from discriminating against,
    9         denying, unduly burdening, or interfering with a
   10         person’s exercise of such fundamental rights;
   11         providing for a civil cause of action and remedies;
   12         providing that the recovery limits of sovereign
   13         immunity apply; providing an effective date.
   14  
   15         WHEREAS, comprehensive reproductive health care, including
   16  contraception and abortion, is a fundamental component of a
   17  woman’s health, privacy, and equality, and
   18         WHEREAS, section 23, Article I of the State Constitution
   19  and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
   20  protect a woman’s fundamental right to access a safe, legal
   21  abortion, and the courts have repeatedly reaffirmed this right
   22  and further emphasized that states may not place undue burdens
   23  on women seeking to access such right, and
   24         WHEREAS, as with other medical procedures, the safety of
   25  abortion is furthered by evidence-based practices developed and
   26  supported by medical professionals, with abortion being one of
   27  the safest medical procedures performed in the United States,
   28  and
   29         WHEREAS, the goal of health care regulation should be to
   30  improve the quality and availability of health care services,
   31  and
   32         WHEREAS, it is the public policy of this state that every
   33  person possesses the fundamental rights of privacy and equality
   34  with respect to his or her personal reproductive decisions and
   35  he or she should be able to safely effectuate those decisions,
   36  including seeking and obtaining abortion care, free from
   37  discrimination, and
   38         WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to prevent the
   39  enforcement of laws or regulations that are not in furtherance
   40  of a legitimate state interest in protecting a woman’s health
   41  and that place burdens on the woman’s right to access a safe,
   42  legal abortion, NOW, THEREFORE,
   43  
   44  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   45  
   46         Section 1. Section 381.00515, Florida Statutes, is created
   47  to read:
   48         381.00515 Reproductive health care protections; civil
   49  remedies.—
   50         (1) This section may be cited as the “Reproductive Health
   51  Care Protections Act.”
   52         (2) The Legislature finds that comprehensive reproductive
   53  health care is a fundamental component of every person’s health,
   54  privacy, and equality.
   55         (3) Each person has the fundamental rights to choose or
   56  refuse contraception or sterilization and to choose to carry a
   57  pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an
   58  abortion in accordance with chapter 390.
   59         (4) A person, the state, a local governmental entity, or
   60  any political subdivision of the state may not discriminate
   61  against, deny, unduly burden, or interfere with any person’s
   62  exercise of the fundamental rights provided under this section
   63  or the State Constitution in the regulation or provision of
   64  benefits, facilities, services, or information.
   65         (5) A person whose rights have been impaired or deprived in
   66  violation of this section may file an action in circuit court
   67  for injunctive or other equitable relief and is entitled to
   68  recover damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The
   69  total amount of recovery against the state, a local governmental
   70  entity, or any other political subdivision of the state may not
   71  exceed the limitations set forth in s. 768.28(5).
   72         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.