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