SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 172

Pregnant Women In Custody
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SPONSOR
Jones
FILED BY
Shevrin D. Jones — District 34, Democrat [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Criminal Justice

Filed under Criminal Justice.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Pregnant Women In Custody; Citing this act as "Ava's law"; requiring that, upon her request, every female arrested and not released on bond within 72 hours after arrest be administered a pregnancy test within a specified timeframe; requiring each municipal detention facility or county detention facility to notify each arrested female upon booking at the facility of her right to request a pregnancy test; defining the term “pregnant woman”; requiring the court to consider specified factors in determining whether to grant a pregnant woman’s request to stay the beginning of the period of incarceration, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Mandates pregnancy tests for detained women and allows courts to delay incarceration until after birth.

Detention facilities must test any female arrestee who requests a pregnancy test within 24 hours of the request. This applies to women held for more than 72 hours without bond.

Facilities must inform every female arrestee of this testing right during the booking process. The law defines "female" to include both juvenile girls and adult women.

Sentencing courts may delay a pregnant woman's incarceration for up to 12 weeks after she gives birth or is no longer pregnant. Courts must weigh factors like the severity of the offense and the safety of the child.

If a stay is granted, the court can impose probation-like conditions. Once the stay ends, the woman must be offered a postpartum health assessment by a licensed provider.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Mandatory Pregnancy Testing majors. 907.033

AICreates a legal obligation for detention facilities to test female arrestees who request it.

“a female arrested and not released on bond within 72 hours after arrest must be administered a pregnancy test” bill text, line 46 →
§ 2 Mandatory Booking Notification majors. 907.033

AIRequires facilities to inform every female arrestee of her right to request a test.

“the facility must notify each such arrestee of her right to request that she be administered a pregnancy test” bill text, line 51 →
§ 3 Discretionary Sentence Stay majors. 925.13

AIGrants courts the authority to delay incarceration for up to 12 weeks postpartum.

“the court has the discretion to stay the beginning of the period of incarceration for up to 12 weeks” bill text, line 68 →
§ 4 Mandatory Postpartum Assessment moderates. 925.13

AIRequires health care providers to offer postpartum medical and mental health support.

“she must be offered an appropriate assessment by a licensed health care practitioner” bill text, line 102 →
§ 5 Quarterly Public Reporting moderates. 925.13

AIMandates the Department of Corrections to publish aggregate pregnancy and birth data.

“the department shall compile and publish quarterly on its public website” bill text, line 124 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Criminal Justice
1/13/2026
Introduced
11/3/2025
Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal...
10/14/2025
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 907.033
+9 / −0
s. 907.033
+137 / −0
s. 925.13
+664 / −0