Lisa Dunkley bill strengthening Florida’s uterine fibroid research law advances to House floor

Legislation to compel the Department of Health (DOH) to implement a years-old women’s health law is poised for a House floor vote after zipping through all three of its committee stops without opposition.

The last vote on the bill (HB 327) came from the House Health and Human Services Committee, which supported it 25-0.

HB 327 would reestablish and clarify requirements for Florida’s existing database for uterine fibroids, the most common benign tumors that affect women. They can lead to heavy bleeding, pelvic pain, frequent urination or, in some cases, no symptoms at all.

Lawmakers in 2022 unanimously approved legislation establishing the database and earmarking funds for its operations and maintenance. But a prohibition on the inclusion of any personal identifying information of women in the database prevented its implementation, HB 327’s sponsor, Sunrise Democratic Rep. Lisa Dunkley, told lawmakers Tuesday.

“Due to the lack of fidelity in the data, the Department has not implemented the uterine fibroid research database and has returned the appropriated funds to the state,” she said.

“This bill just requires that health care providers submit identified uterine fibroid data to the Department of Health that will be de-identified for the public database.”

HB 327 and its identical Senate twin (SB 196) by Broward County Democratic Sen. Barbara Sharief would do two things. First, it would require DOH to include uterine fibroids on its list of diseases determined to be “a threat to public health.”

Second, it would delete a line prohibiting personal identifying information of women diagnosed or treated for uterine fibroids from being added to the database. DOH would protect the information under the “threat to public health” statute.

Sunrise Deputy Mayor Jacqueline Guzman signaled support for Dunkley’s measure, which has co-prime sponsorship from Tampa Republican Rep. Susan Valdés.

Rep. Dianne Hart-Lowman, a Tampa Democrat, thanked Dunkley for carrying the legislation, noting that when the original bill passed in 2022, she and other lawmakers “anticipated we’d have data today.”

The passage of HB 327 now depends on action in the Senate, which has yet to take up SB 196 in any of the three committees to which it was referred in mid-November.

If finally established, the database must — at a minimum — contain information on the incidence and prevalence of fibroids among women in Florida, their demographic attributes and the procedures physicians use to treat them.

Dunkley carried similar legislation last year in collaboration with Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez.