Reproductive Rights News Roundup – 4/19/2019

Abortion Parental Consent Passes Florida House
By Christine Sexton
News Service of Florida
In a proposal that likely would lead to another court battle over abortion, the Florida House late Wednesday approved a bill that would require minors to obtain parental consent before they could have abortions.

Florida House votes to require parental consent for teen girls seeking abortion; similar legislation ruled unconstitutional in 1989
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Florida Phoenix
A major move to restrict reproductive rights in Florida advanced on Wednesday evening when the Florida House voted 69-44 to require teenage girls to get parental consent before having an abortion.

Will proposed abortion ban be litmus test for Florida’s new Supreme Court?
By Amy Weintraub
Palm Beach Post
Nearly 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will have an abortion in her lifetime. Yet it seems every year new laws are proposed in the Florida Legislature designed to take away a woman’s right to control her body and make her own health care decisions. These laws shame, pressure and punish the one woman in every four who has decided to have an abortion.

Forced Consent is Cause for Concern
By Amy Weintraub
Florida Phoenix
As bills restricting young people’s access to abortion are once again being considered by the Florida Legislature, my thoughts turn to my own children.

The stealth attack on access to abortion
By Virgil Reid
Lakeland Ledger
Opponents of a woman’s right to access safe and legal abortion without shame or stigma find themselves in a political climate that is favorable to rolling back and taking away these rights. Their problem is that, much as the cable news talking heads would have us believe otherwise, this isn’t a partisan or even a controversial issue.

2019 Abortion Bans: These Are All the Restrictions Proposed in the Year’s First Quarter
By Brittney McNamara
Teen Vogue
In the first three months of 2019, state legislations proposed or attempted to pass just about as many abortion restrictions as they did in 2018, but there’s one key difference: this year’s attempts are more extreme.

The Anti-Abortion Movie ‘Unplanned’ Is Loaded With Dangerous Lies
By Melissa Jeltsen
Huffington Post
“Unplanned,” a new movie in limited release, charts the unusual conversion story of Abby Johnson, a real-life Planned Parenthood clinic director in Bryan, Texas, who became an anti-abortion advocate after a crisis of conscience.

‘Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act’ clears final House panel
By Ryan Nicol
Florida Politics
A bill to ensure women inmates are provided with necessary hygiene products cleared its final House panel Tuesday, as the House Judiciary Committee signed off on the bill.

Community can help pregnant women and their children
By Washington Hill
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarasota is a wonderful community in which to live, work and play.