The Quickie: Florida Six-Week Abortion Ban Rapidly Advances Thru Senate

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: FL 6 week ban rapidly advances thru Senate, KY lawmakers override veto to pass anti-trans omnibus bill, EACH Act reintroduced in U.S. Senate, and loss of abortion rights negatively impacts mental health

**BREAKING: Federal Judge Threatens to End Preventative Care Protected Under Affordable Care Act**

FLORIDA SIX-WEEK ABORTION BAN RAPIDLY ADVANCES THRU SENATE: Today, the Florida Senate is expected to vote on and likely pass an abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy (SB 300). The House companion to the bill (HB 7) has already advanced out of committee and is also expected to pass in the coming days before being sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. Florida could have a near total abortion as soon as next week. 

Since the Dobbs decision, Planned Parenthood affiliates in Florida have seen quadruple the number of out-of-state abortion patients.Florida government data also confirms there was a 68% increase in out-of-state abortion patients between 2020 and 2022, which is probably an underestimate given that Roe only fell in the second half of the year.

Dr. Shelley Tien, an abortion provider at PPSENFL, reflected on providing care for pregnant people traveling from out-of-state: 

“Many of the patients I see that are coming from out-of-state are driving because it’s cheaper, and many patients are driving through the night. We’ve had patients show up that are very hungry. I’ve cared for patients that have to miss and reschedule appointments because their childcare falls through or they’ve been unable to find someone to care for their children. I’ve had patients in relationships with active intimate partner violence trying to find a time when their partner, who is also the perpetrator, is out of town so they can sneak away and have an abortion.” 

Florida has a 15-week abortion ban with limited exceptions on the bill, but this ban goes even further: a six-week ban is a total ban with window dressing. As Dr. Tien explains: “Six weeks is only two weeks after a missed period, and by that point, many women haven’t realized they’re pregnant. Women have irregular periods all the time for many reasons, so to prevent them from seeking abortion care after six weeks is, for all intents and purposes, a total ban. Essentially, a ban like this completely robs women, girls and their families of having any say in their own health.” 

Read more at the Guardian. 

KENTUCKY LAWMAKERS OVERRIDE GOV’S VETO TO PASS ANTI-TRANS OMNIBUS BILL: Yesterday, the Kentucky General Assembly voted to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of SB 150, an omnibus anti-trans bill. SB 150 is one of the worst attacks on trans rights in the country. Some of its key provisions include: 

• A ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth 
• Prohibition on conversations regarding sexual orientation or gender identity in schools for children of all ages 
• A ban on allowing trans students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity 
• Allowing teachers to misgender students 
• Forced outing of students to their parents 

Attacks on trans health care can have devastating consequences on mental health, increasing the risk of suicide and depression. The law will now take effect in June. 

“This law is a stain on Kentucky,” Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said. “Every elected official who voted for SB 150 is on the wrong side of history… If there is one positive we can take from this, it’s that this bill has connected us and sparked protests across the commonwealth that make it clear: The Kentucky public, especially young people, support our trans neighbors.”

Read more at Courier Journal and WAVE.  

SENATE REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS CHAMPIONS RE-INTRODUCE EACH ACT: Yesterday, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) re-introduced the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act. The EACH Act is an essential bill that guarantees health coverage for abortion no matter how much money a person makes, the type of insurance they have, or where they live. This bill also overturns the discriminatory and racist Hyde Amendment, which blocks people with Medicaid from using their health insurance coverage to get an abortion. Its companion bill has already been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

LOSS OF ABORTION RIGHTS LINKED TO INCREASE IN MENTAL DISTRESS FOR WOMEN: Last week, new research found that losing access to abortion is linked to a 10% increase in mental distress prevalence among women of reproductive age. Researchers compared Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data pre- and post-Dobbs decision for women living in states where abortion was banned or was likely to be banned, compared to states with protected abortion access. 

“Restricting legal abortion access may be associated with disproportionate outcomes among individuals of lower socioeconomic status and in medically underserved areas, who may experience greater economic and mental health burdens of having unwanted pregnancies due to increased travel costs of obtaining abortions,” the researchers wrote. “Our study suggests that mental health outcomes associated with restricting abortion access may extend broadly, beyond female individuals who have been denied an abortion to female individuals of reproductive age.”

Read the full study here.