{"id":296742,"date":"2023-08-18T18:39:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T23:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=296742"},"modified":"2023-08-21T12:56:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T17:56:41","slug":"florida-abortion-business-fined-24-hour-waiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/florida-abortion-business-fined-24-hour-waiting\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida abortion business fined nearly $200k for ignoring 24-hour waiting period"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Florida abortion business is facing $193,000 in fines for failure to comply with state law requiring a 24-hour waiting period prior to an abortion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Agency or Health Care Administration (AHCA) issued an order<\/a> Monday with $1,000 fines \u2013 the maximum allowed under law \u2013 for each of the 193 abortions committed by the facility without a waiting period. Court documents show that the facility, known as the Center of Orlando for Women, had testified that it was unsure of when the waiting period requirement would take effect after a judge\u2019s final decision on the law on April 25, 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

The initial law was passed in 2015 but quickly faced an injunction. Staff said that they implemented a waiting period requirement on May 9, two days before the AHCA visited the site. The agency found that between April 26 and May 7, the Center had performed 193 abortions on the same day clients were admitted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Administrative Law Judge Bruce Culpepper had recommended a $350 fine per abortion, noting that there were \u201ccertain extenuating and mitigating facts that should be considered when assessing the gravity of the Center’s violation \u2026 and in turn, the appropriate and reasonable fine to levy upon the Center.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>WFSU<\/span><\/a>, the Center\u2019s attorney requested a much smaller fine of $100 per abortion while noting that the $193,000 figure \u201cwould likely force the clinic into bankruptcy or closure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That request came as part of a document filed in March, which argued that the Center had taken \u201cnecessary and reasonable steps to discover the effective date of 24-hour requirement so that it would be in compliance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n