LAKE NONA, Fla. — The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issued emergency rules concerning the state's newly implemented six-week abortion ban this week that exempt certain procedures from being called abortions.

What You Need To Know

  • The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration issued emergency rules concerning the state's newly implemented six-week abortion ban this week

  • The rules lay out certain situations that will not be considered abortions if a fetus does not survive the treatment

  • One recently graduated Central Florida medical student says she is concerned about practicing medicine in Florida with new abortion laws 

According to the rules, if a woman’s water breaks prematurely and she is delivery is induced, it will not be considered an abortion if the fetus does not survive. Likewise, if a fetus does not survive treatment for an ectopic pregnancy or trophoblastic tumor, the rules say the procedures will not be considered abortions.

The six-week abortion ruling has brought concern to many, who believe six weeks is not enough time for a woman to know if she is pregnant.

It even worries some future doctors like Brittany Perry, who recently finished medical school and will soon start her residency in Atlanta.

Perry has spent the past four years in a medical school in Central Florida and plans to work as a pediatrician. 

“I’m so excited — my parents are excited," she said. "(The residency is) not too far from Florida. But they are close enough to visit."

While Perry has been focused on her studies, as a future pediatrician, she said she’s concerned about Florida’s changing abortion laws.

“So, most major medical societies, like the American Medical Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, recommend that you don’t put any barriers between a pregnant person and abortion care before 24 weeks of gestation," she said.

She believes changing laws and confusing exemptions worry her and some of her fellow medical students.

“I think it’s definitely giving us pause," she said.

However, Mat Staver, the founder of the Liberty Counsel in Orlando, said he is pleased with the recent statue exemptions for those that seek abortions early on.

“The statue gives a number of exceptions, and the regulations address some of those exceptions with the ectopic pregnancy or certain type of tumors, and other types of issues that might be part of pregnancy," he said. "That would not be considered an abortion, and that is what the regulation that was just issued by the Agency for Health Care Administration confirmed."

Perry said one of the big worries for her and other medical students is the possibility of future legal issues.

She said OB-GYNs already face a high rate of lawsuits, and many worry that the new abortion ruling will only make things worse for their careers in Florida.

Perry, who grew up in Florida, said she hopes everyone can find middle ground on the abortion issue so health professionals will want to come to Florida and stay.