Florida Now First State to Allow C-sections Outside Hospitals

Thanks to a new law passed by the Republican-led Florida legislature, Florida has become the first state in the country to allow c-section operations to be done outside of hospitals.

The bill passed by the Florida House and Senate this year would allow c-sections to be done in facilities called "advanced birth centers."  Although lawmakers did this to ease the options for expecting mothers, doctors are against the policy.

Legislation for these advanced birth centers has been tabled before and has been attempted in the Florida legislature since 2018.  Lawmakers are hoping these facilities allow rural moms to have access to c-sections.

Dr. Judette Louis, department chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida stated, "We worry about harm to patients.  In the scenario where you have an unexpected hemorrhage, will you have the right resources on hand?  So, many of us have had instances where we've had to call in surgeons from other parts of the hospital to help us with an unexpected hemorrhage. What will happen in a freestanding birth center when that happens? Will they have the resources around them to save that patient? We worry that they may not."

Senator Gayle Harrell (R-FL) was the sponsor of the bill and stated, "Free-market principles show us the private sector can innovate in ways government could never imagine.  What government can do is facilitate the exploration and implementation of innovative technologies and delivery models that increase efficiency, reduce strain on the health care workforce, improve patient outcomes, expand public access to care, and reduce costs for patients and taxpayers without impacting the quality of patient care."