Media echoes worries about where abortion-seeking women will go after Florida laws upheld
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Media outlets echoed concerns that women in Florida will be displaced following the recent Supreme Court of Florida decision to uphold the 15 week abortion ban, thus permitting the six week ban to take effect.
CNN and The Hill highlighted how most women don’t even know that they’re pregnant at six weeks, making it extremely difficult to get an abortion in the appropriate amount of time.
Florida also requires two in-person doctors visits at least 24 hours apart before a woman is able to schedule an abortion.
The court upheld the constitutionality of the 15 week ban that is currently in place, paving the way for the six week ban to take effect on May 1.
CNN pointed to research from the Guttmacher Institute that said one out of every three abortions in the south happened in Florida. one out of every 12 nationwide also happened within the state.
The Hill noted that there were around 84,000 abortions performed in the Sunshine State in 2023. With the new restrictions, women will need to travel even farther, southern states have various bans in place on abortion.
Other outlets like the Washington Post noted the same concerns, bringing up extreme cases of women who were denied abortions.
Andrew Shirvell, the executive director of Florida Voice for the Unborn, expressed his support for the court’s decision to uphold the 15 week ban. However, he was disappointed in their other ruling, allowing for an abortion amendment to be added to the 2024 ballot.
“Florida Voice for the Unborn is profoundly disappointed in the Florida Supreme Court for deciding today to compromise with the abortion industry by allowing its misleading proposed constitutional amendment on this November’s General Election ballot, while taking way too long to finally issue, contemporaneously, its long-awaited decision to uphold 2022’s legislatively-enacted 15-Week Abortion Ban,” he said.
“Nonetheless, by overturning prior case law that had improperly held that the privacy clause of the Florida Constitution encompassed a so-called ‘right’ to obtain an abortion within the state of Florida, today’s favorable decision on the 15-Week Abortion Ban means that 2023’s Heartbeat Protection Act is now slated to go into full effect, including the prohibition on the vast majority of Florida abortions after six-weeks’ gestation – and that is a silver lining in an otherwise dark day for Florida’s unborn children,” he added.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, has consistently posted on her social media about the state of abortion access in Florida, making sure to detail how women will be able to get abortions before and after May 1.
“When Florida’s 6 week ban goes into effect it will lead to our state having one of the cruelest abortion bans in country. Please read through the steps one will have to take and remember abortion is *still* legal in FL up to 15 weeks. The 6 week ban goes into effect in May,” she said, sharing a graphic highlighting how and where to get abortions.
Although the six week ban is set to take effect soon, Florida voters will have the opportunity to decide if they want to allow for abortion in the state up until the point of the viability.
