Florida’s Six-Week Abortion Ban, Explained Simply

Florida bans abortion once a physician determines the pregnancy is more than six weeks along, counted from the first day of your last period. The ban took effect May 1, 2024. It has exceptions for the woman’s life or serious physical health, for a fatal fetal abnormality before the third trimester, and for rape, incest or human trafficking through 15 weeks, with documentation.

Because Florida also requires two in-person visits at least 24 hours apart, the real window to schedule and finish care is shorter than six weeks. Minors need a parent’s notarized consent, and abortion pills cannot be prescribed by telehealth or mailed by a Florida physician.

What Florida’s Six-Week Abortion Law Says

The rule sits in Fla. Stat. § 390.0111(1). A physician may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion when the physician determines the fetus is past six weeks of gestation, unless one of the listed exceptions applies.

The Legislature passed the limit as SB 300, the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” signed April 13, 2023 and published as chapter 2023-21, Laws of Florida. The six-week limit was written to take effect only after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the earlier 15-week law. That happened April 1, 2024, and the six-week limit started 30 days later.

The same law bars physicians from using telehealth to perform abortions, requires abortion medication to be dispensed in person by a physician, and limits who may perform the procedure to licensed physicians.

How Florida Counts the Six Weeks

Florida measures pregnancy from the first day of your last menstrual period, not from conception. Doctors call this gestational age, and the physician determines it, with an ultrasound used to verify it before consent.

Say the first day of your last period is March 1 and your cycle runs 28 days. Your next period is due March 29, which is already four weeks into the count. Six weeks falls on April 12, only 14 days after the missed period.

Fit the two required visits inside that gap. If the procedure is on April 12, the first visit, with the physician’s in-person consultation, has to happen by April 11. Anyone with an irregular cycle may reach six weeks before they have any reason to suspect a pregnancy.

Hand-drawn timeline showing March 1, March 29 and April 12 as the six-week mark

Exceptions to the Six-Week Limit

Section 390.0111(1) lists four exceptions, and each comes with paperwork. A doctor who skips a certification risks a felony charge, which is why providers apply them cautiously.

Exception	Limit	What the statute requires
Life or serious physical harm	Any stage	Two physicians certify in writing; psychological conditions do not count
Emergency, no second doctor available	Any stage	One physician certifies in writing, and no other physician is available to consult
Fatal fetal abnormality	Before the third trimester	Two physicians certify in writing
Rape, incest or human trafficking	15 weeks	Police report, restraining order, medical record, court order or other documentation, provided when scheduling or arriving

Life and health

The life exception covers a procedure needed to save the woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. The statute excludes psychological conditions from this exception.

Rape, incest and human trafficking

The documentation can be a restraining order, police report, medical record, court order, or other documentation showing she is a victim. After 15 weeks the exception ends.

The physician has reporting duties of their own. Suspected human trafficking involving an adult must be reported to local law enforcement, and rape, incest or trafficking involving a minor goes to the Department of Children and Families abuse hotline under § 39.201.

The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) collects the reasons clinics report. Out of 48,150 abortions reported for 2025, its reason-by-trimester report lists 64 for rape, 3 for incest and none for human trafficking. It also lists 106 for a life-endangering physical condition and 228 for a fatal fetal abnormality.

The Two-Visit Rule, Ultrasound and Physician-Only Care

Florida requires the physician to give you specific information orally, in the same room, at least 24 hours before the procedure. That produces two in-person appointments in practical terms: a consultation visit and a procedure visit.

The consultation covers the risks of proceeding and of not proceeding, the probable gestational age verified by ultrasound, and the medical risks of carrying to term. You must also be offered printed state materials on fetal development, alternatives, and benefits for prenatal and newborn care, and you sign an acknowledgment that you received the information.

The ultrasound is performed during that visit. You must be offered the chance to view the images and hear an explanation, and you may decline in writing.

The 24-hour wait can be shortened if, when scheduling or arriving, you present documentation of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking. The same documentation excuses the required ultrasound offer unless you ask for it.

Diagram of two in-person Florida appointments at least 24 hours apart

Abortion Pills, Telehealth and Shield-Law Providers

Medication abortion is legal in Florida through six weeks, but only if a physician dispenses the pills in person. The statute bars telehealth for performing abortions, including medication abortions, and bars sending the medication through the U.S. Postal Service or any courier.

That rule binds Florida-licensed physicians. It has not stopped out-of-state clinicians in shield-law states, which protect their own providers from other states’ lawsuits, from mailing pills to Florida patients. The South Florida Sun Sentinel, citing Florida data and the Guttmacher Institute, reported that about 28% of Florida abortions in 2025 involved medication from shield-law providers, and that officials have not been able to enforce Florida’s law against them.

The Legislature considered going after that channel in 2026. HB 663 would have let family members sue over abortion pills sent into Florida for up to $100,000. It died in the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee on March 13, 2026, and its Senate companion SB 1374 died in the Senate Health Policy committee the same day.

Florida and Texas also asked in September 2025 to join the federal lawsuit challenging the FDA’s approval and loosened rules for mifepristone. That case could change how pills are prescribed nationally, regardless of what Florida’s statute says.

Abortion for Minors Under 18

Under Fla. Stat. § 390.01114, a physician may not perform an abortion on a minor without a parent or legal guardian’s written consent. The consent must be signed, dated and notarized with each page initialed, and a copy of the parent’s government-issued photo ID must be attached.

The physician must also give the parent notice, in person or by phone, at least 48 hours before the procedure. If actual notice fails after reasonable effort, a letter sent by certified mail at least 72 hours before substitutes for it.

The statute lists these exceptions: a medical emergency, a minor who is or has been married or whose disability of nonage has been removed, a minor with a dependent child, and a parent’s written notarized waiver dated within 30 days. It also created a judicial waiver, but that process is now disputed.

What happened to the judicial waiver

On May 14, 2025, the Fifth District Court of Appeal decided Doe v. Uthmeier, No. 5D2025-1363, reported at 407 So. 3d 1281. It affirmed the denial of one minor’s petition because the trial judge found her testimony not credible. The court then held that the maturity and best-interest waivers in § 390.01114(6)(c) and (d) violate parents’ due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fifth District’s opinion archive carries the decision.

The panel certified a question of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court, which decides whether the ruling stands. News coverage described the decision as applying statewide unless the Supreme Court reverses it. The opinion names only the maturity and best-interest provisions, not the statute’s separate ground for minors abused by a parent or guardian.

The statute’s own text still contains the waiver, so the statute and the court ruling pull in different directions. A physician who performs a procedure on a minor without the required consent commits a third-degree felony. The minor cannot be penalized.

Notarized parental consent form with pen and seal on a desk

Penalties for Doctors and Clinics

Willfully performing, or actively participating in, an abortion that violates § 390.0111 is a third-degree felony. Under Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082 and 775.083, that means up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

If the violation results in the woman’s death, the offense rises to a second-degree felony, with up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. A violation is also grounds for discipline against a medical license under Fla. Stat. §§ 458.331 and 459.015.

Clinics must report to AHCA each month under § 390.0112, including the number of abortions, reasons, gestational ages and medication regimens, without patient names. Willfully failing to file can cost $200 per violation.

The statute does not spell out who beyond the physician counts as someone who “actively participates.” Section 390.01114 says outright that a minor cannot be penalized for her own abortion, but § 390.0111 contains no matching sentence for patients generally.

How Florida Got Here: Court Rulings and Amendment 4

Three events shaped the current law: the Legislature’s 2023 vote, a 2024 Supreme Court decision, and a ballot measure that fell short.

Date	What happened
April 13, 2023	SB 300 signed, ch. 2023-21, with the six-week limit set to take effect only after the 15-week law was upheld
April 1, 2024	Florida Supreme Court rules the Privacy Clause does not protect abortion, upholds the 15-week law
May 1, 2024	Six-week limit takes effect
November 5, 2024	Amendment 4 wins 57.17% of the vote and fails the 60% requirement
May 14, 2025	Fifth District strikes the judicial waiver grounds in Doe v. Uthmeier
March 13, 2026	HB 663 and SB 1374, the abortion-pill lawsuit bills, die in committee

In Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida v. State, 384 So. 3d 67, the court receded from its earlier decisions that had found a right to abortion in the Privacy Clause, Article I, § 23. The same day it cleared the Amendment 4 ballot language.

The Florida Division of Elections official results show Amendment 4 received 6,070,758 yes votes and 4,548,379 no votes. A constitutional amendment needs 60% to pass, so a majority of voters supporting it was not enough. Because it failed, any change to the six-week limit would have to come from the Legislature or from a new amendment that clears 60%.

How the Ban Changed Access to Abortion

The number of abortions performed in Florida clinics fell by about 43% between 2023 and 2025. AHCA data reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel put 2023 at 84,052 clinic abortions, and AHCA’s 2025 report totals 48,150.

Clinic counts alone undercount the care people still get, because telehealth pills from shield-law providers are not in them. Guttmacher’s estimates, which include that care, put 2025 at about 65,800 abortions for Florida patients, a 25% drop from roughly 88,000 in 2023.

Measure	2023	2025
Abortions reported by Florida clinics (AHCA)	84,052	48,150
Floridians who traveled out of state	2,800	8,200
People who traveled into Florida	9,000+	2,200

Those travel counts come from Guttmacher’s report on abortion travel in 2025. Its analysis found travel from Florida to Virginia grew from 140 in 2023 to 1,770 in 2025, and to New York from about 600 to about 2,300.

Florida used to be the closest option for patients in several Southern states, which have their own bans. After the ban, the nearest in-person care past six weeks is in North Carolina, an average of 590 miles one way from Florida, according to Guttmacher’s 2024 analysis.

Map showing the 590-mile average one-way trip from Florida to North Carolina for abortion care after six weeks

What to Do if You Are Pregnant and Deciding

Start by working out how far along you are. Count from the first day of your last period and compare it with the six-week mark.

Call a licensed Florida clinic or physician and ask for the first appointment right away, since the consultation has to come at least 24 hours before the procedure. Bring government-issued photo ID.
If you are a victim of rape, incest or human trafficking, bring a police report, medical record, restraining order or court order. With that documentation, abortion care is available through 15 weeks and the wait can be shortened.
If you are under 18, ask the clinic what parent consent paperwork it needs and arrange the notarized document and ID before the appointment.
If you are past six weeks, ask the clinic about referrals to out-of-state care. Planned Parenthood (1-800-230-7526) and the directory at INeedAnA.com list providers by state, and abortion funds can help with travel costs.
If you have a medical emergency, go to a hospital. The life and health exceptions apply at any stage.

Be careful with pregnancy centers that advertise near clinics. Many do not provide abortions, so ask directly whether a facility does before booking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is abortion completely illegal in Florida?

No. Abortion is legal through six weeks of pregnancy. After that it is allowed only for a life or serious health emergency, a fatal fetal abnormality before the third trimester, or rape, incest or human trafficking through 15 weeks with documentation.

Can I get abortion pills by mail in Florida?

Not from a Florida physician. Florida law requires abortion medication to be dispensed in person by a physician and bars shipping it by mail or courier. Out-of-state shield-law providers do mail pills, and Florida officials have been unable to enforce the law against them.

Do I need my parents’ permission if I am under 18?

Yes. Florida requires a parent or legal guardian’s notarized written consent and 48 hours’ notice. The judicial waiver for minors who cannot involve a parent was struck on two grounds by the Fifth District in May 2025, and the question is before the Florida Supreme Court.

What counts as proof for the rape or incest exception?

A police report, medical record, restraining order, court order or other documentation showing you are a victim. You must provide it when you schedule or arrive for the appointment, and the exception ends at 15 weeks.

How many weeks pregnant am I if my period is two weeks late?

About six weeks if your cycle is 28 days. Florida counts from the first day of your last period, and a missed period on a 28-day cycle is already four weeks into the count.

Could Florida’s six-week limit change?

Only through the Legislature or a new constitutional amendment. Amendment 4 got 57.17% of the vote in November 2024 but needed 60%, so the six-week limit stayed in place.