Florida’s two state health agencies clarified for doctors on Thursday morning that an abortion is allowed at “any stage in pregnancy” to save the life and health of the mother, according to a press release.
“Providers are reminded that Florida requires life-saving medical care to a mother without delay when necessary, and the Florida Department of Health and the Agency for Health Care Administration will take regulatory action when a provider fails to follow this standard of care,” the press release says in bold text.
The release, aimed to dispel what the state called “misinformation” about abortion in Florida, also says “miscarriage is not an abortion” in bold text and warns health care facilities and providers that a failure to provide life-saving treatment for pregnant women may constitute malpractice.
Someone asked me once if I had the option to save one life or the other, which would I choose? It wasn’t about abortion, but more like diverting the train. I said, “The moment I decide who to save is also the moment I decide who dies. There will either be an action or inaction, but that decision is what makes me a murderer. People may tell me it’s not true because I only did it to save a life, but one life was already about to be lost, and I didn’t change the outcome. If someone walks into traffic and you decide to risk your life and push them to safety, you are putting yourself at risk where there was no risk before and therefore potentially trading your life for another. You could both die, but you could both live, and that’s the difference. If someone is trying to kill you, but you kill them, you prevented a decided action to kill, and therefore, it wasn’'t your decision.”
The decision should be made between the mother and the doctor.