The Quickie: Floridians Protecting Freedom Kick Off Abortion Ballot Initiative Campaign
For Immediate Release: May 8, 2023
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 ballot initiative campaign kicks off, RI moves closer to Medicaid abortion coverage, and Don’t Ban Equality network honored!
FLORIDIANS PROTECTING FREEDOM KICK OFF ABORTION BALLOT INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN: This morning, Floridians Protecting Freedom — a coalition of groups including Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood’s Florida affiliates — officially launched a ballot initiative campaign to establish a state constitutional limit on government interference in abortion. For more than a decade, the people of Florida have made it clear in polling, and with their votes, that they don’t want the government intruding on their personal medical decisions. The Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion will transfer power from politicians back into the hands of Floridians.
"When I was 23 weeks pregnant, I learned my baby had Potter Syndrome and would not live long after being born,” said Deborah Dorbert. “Even though my husband and I decided that the best decision for our family would be to induce labor, Florida's abortion ban took that decision away from us and our doctors. I had no choice but to carry my pregnancy for months until I could be induced and give birth to Milo, who died in my arms within hours. After going through what I went through, I wish no mom or any family will have to go through the same… Our reproductive health decisions should be ours alone. Floridians need the freedom to make decisions about their bodies and future, to access abortion in their communities, to raise their families in a state where their autonomy is protected.”
“As a provider of abortion care in this state, I’ve witnessed firsthand the devastating impact on patients and their families from the 15-week abortion ban passed last year,” said Dr. Shelly Tien, an abortion provider at Planned Parenthood South, East, and North Florida. “These abortion bans represent a public health threat to every Floridian – not just pregnant individuals but also their families and loved ones. Restricting abortion access inevitably results in forced pregnancies, pregnancy and health complications, forced childbirth, and for some, forced parenting, as some families may not feel that making an adoption plan is an option for them.”
Read more at the New York Times and in Floridians Protecting Freedom’s press release.
RHODE ISLAND MOVES CLOSER TO MEDICAID COVERAGE OF ABORTION: On Friday, Amanda Skinner, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, penned an op-ed for the Boston Globe, urging the Rhode Island Senate to pass the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act (EACA). The EACA, which was passed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives on April 27, would guarantee coverage for abortion for the 90,000 Rhode Islanders of reproductive age enrolled in Medicaid or state employee insurance plans. As Skinner writes, “Recent polling shows that the overwhelming majority of voters believe that individuals enrolled in Medicaid should have the same coverage for abortion as those with private insurance. This is a reflection of the growing understanding that reproductive health care is not a luxury but a basic human right, and that denying access to abortion care perpetuates inequality and harm.”
Read the full op-ed at the Boston Globe.
DON’T BAN EQUALITY NETWORK HONORED BY FAST COMPANY FOR 2023 WORLD CHANGING IDEAS AWARDS: Last week, the Don’t Ban Equality network — of which Planned Parenthood is a co-leading organization — was named as an honorable mention for its Corporate Social Responsibility impact by Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards.
Created in 2019, the Don't Ban Equality network is the largest business network in support of reproductive health care access and rights, including abortion. Today, Don't Ban Equality includes more than 800 businesses that are taking action to stop bans on abortion and protect access to sexual and reproductive health care because it is a business imperative.
