The Florida Board of Medicine has issued a final order imposing a $10,000 fine and reprimand against a physician who failed to comply with the state’s 24-hour waiting period law for abortions.
The case involved Dr. Candace Sue Cooley, an obstetrician and gynecologist who performed 193 abortions at the Center of Orlando for Women clinic during a two-week period in 2022, immediately after the waiting period law took effect.
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Florida’s 24-hour waiting period law, passed in 2015, requires women to receive information about abortions from their doctor and then wait at least 24 hours before undergoing the procedure. The law was subject to legal challenges and did not take effect until April 2022.
The Florida Department of Health sought to revoke Dr. Cooley’s license, arguing that she violated the law by performing abortions without adhering to the waiting period.
However, Administrative Law Judge James H. Peterson III recommended a less severe penalty, citing that Dr. Cooley and the clinic had made reasonable efforts to determine the effective date of the law but received no clear guidance from the state Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
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The Board of Medicine ultimately accepted Judge Peterson’s recommendation, imposing a $10,000 fine and a reprimand. The final order acknowledged that Dr. Cooley’s violation was unintentional and that no patients suffered physical harm as a result.
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