The Quickie: Florida's Six-Week Abortion Ban Harms Access Across the Entire Region
For Immediate Release: Sept. 12, 2024
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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’s 6-week ban harms access in the region, a PP Votes spotlight, and IN Circuit Court declines to broaden abortion ban exception.
FLORIDA’S SIX-WEEK ABORTION BAN HARMS ACCESS ACROSS THE ENTIRE SOUTH: Today, Guttmacher released new data that show the consequences of Florida’s six-week abortion ban on the entire South. The latest data shows that abortions in Florida declined 30% in May 2024 and 35% in June, with widespread impacts of the ban also reaching neighboring states like Georgia and Alabama. Currently, the nearest state for a Floridian to travel to for abortion care before 12 weeks is North Carolina, and patients who need care after 12 weeks must travel even longer distances.
Today’s report is part of Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study and shows that Florida’s abortion ban is also affecting training and exacerbating inequities in health care. According to the report, health centers administered by Planned Parenthood affiliates in Florida — Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida and Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida — provided almost a third of clinician-provided abortions in the state in 2023, saw an 80% decline in the number of out-of-state residents obtaining abortion care in May 2023 compared to May 2024. Highlighting the effects of systemic racism in the health care system, those same health centers saw a 40% decline year over year among Black patients compared to a 25-33% decline among other racial and ethnic groups.
The magnitude of the ban’s impact demonstrates how critical passing Amendment 4, a measure to protect abortion from government interference, is for Floridians’ reproductive health. Unless Florida voters approve this amendment in November, the abortion ban will continue to put Floridians at risk.*
Advocacy for passage of Florida Amendment 4 paid for by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, 123 William Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10038. Provided in-kind to Floridians Protecting Freedom.
DURING DEBATE, DONALD TRUMP REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HE’D VETO A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN: If Donald Trump’s temper tantrum wasn’t enough to turn voters off, he repeatedly avoided the question of whether he would veto a national abortion ban if it came to his desk. Instead, he obfuscated, lied, and threw his running mate under the bus (again). Why? Because he plans to pick up right where he left off. Knowing that an increasing number of voters hold abortion access at the top of their concerns this election, Trump’s lack of answer is saying the quiet part out loud — he and his allies are coming for our reproductive rights. As Planned Parenthood Votes Executive Director, Jenny Lawson told the Associated Press, “This entire campaign cycle we’ve been telling voters they can’t trust Donald Trump when it comes to their reproductive freedom. And he just proved that right [on debate] night.” Don’t be fooled by Trump’s muddy answers, we know exactly what he’d do and Planned Parenthood Votes will do everything in our power to make sure he doesn’t win in November.
Read more here.
| Paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, 123 William St, NY NY 10038. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. |
INDIANA CIRCUIT COURT DECLINES TO BROADEN EXCEPTION TO ABORTION BAN: More than a year after Indiana's criminal abortion ban took effect, an Indiana circuit court ruled against abortion providers and a pregnancy resource center. The court declined to broaden and clarify the scope of the ban’s narrow and ambiguous health and life exception despite ample evidence that it prevents Indiana physicians from providing critical abortion care to patients. The court also declined to block the requirement that any abortions provided under the ban’s limited exceptions take place in a hospital. This decision means that Hoosiers are left with dangerously limited options, even if they experience serious pregnancy complications.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, ACLU of Indiana, All-Options, the Lawyering Project issued a joint statement:
"Today’s decision means that pregnant Hoosiers’ lives will continue to be endangered by Indiana’s abortion ban. Already, Hoosiers with serious health complications have been forced to endure unjustifiable suffering due to miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other pregnancy-related issues or leave the state to access appropriate care. Hoosiers deserve better, and the Indiana Constitution demands better. We will continue to serve patients as best as possible and work towards a future where patients and their doctors can make decisions without politicians in their exam rooms.”