Reproductive Rights News Roundup

Florida Republicans fast-track abortion restrictions
By Alexandra Glorioso
Politico
Florida lawmakers are fast tracking legislation to restrict abortion, pushing to deliver a victory to the Republican base in a presidential election year.

On Roe v. Wade Anniversary, FL Lawmakers Move to Restrict Abortion Access
By Valerie Crowder
Public News Service Florida
Florida legislation restricting access to abortion services for pregnant teens moved closer to a floor vote on the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Wednesday.

5 Things to Know About Florida’s Abortion Parental Consent Bill
By Troy Kinsey
Tampa Bay News 9
The Florida Senate Rules Committee voted Wednesday to send an abortion parental consent bill to the chamber’s floor for a final vote, prompting abortion rights activists to redouble their efforts to defeat it.

Hundreds gather at City Hall for Orlando Women’s March
By Ashley Edlund and Katlyn Brieskorn
WFTV Orlando
The National Organization of Women Orange County Chapter hosted the Orlando Women’s March on Sunday.

70 abortion rights supporters rally in St. Petersburg
By Seán Kinane
WMNF Tampa Bay
Wednesday in St. Petersburg, about 70 demonstrators voiced their support for reproductive freedom on all four corners of an intersection along Central Avenue in downtown. What was called the “Roe v Wade Anniversary Visibility Event” was met with about five counter-demonstrators holding signs like “Stop Abortion Now.”

Men should care about protecting abortion access, too
By Carlos Guillermo Smith
Florida Politics
Abortion rights have come under increasing attack across the country, with 12 states having passed restrictions on abortion access in just the last year, including our neighbors Alabama and Georgia with two of the most extreme abortion bans ever seen.

Could El Salvador’s Draconian Abortion Ban Become Part Of Florida’s Debate?
By Tim Padgett
WLRN Miami
Two months ago, Democratic state Rep. Cindy Polo of Miami Lakes visited a prison in El Salvador.

Roe v. Wade: Settled Law Or Bad Precedent? States Prep For An Overturn
By Julie Rovner
NPR
Jan. 22 marks the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. People on both sides of the furious debate say this could be the year when everything changes.

Florida Planned Parenthood PAC kicks off 2020 election campaign to elect pro-choice candidates
By Sarah Mueller
Florida Politics
Florida Planned Parenthood’s Political Action Committee will be launching a $2.5 million campaign this year to elect two more state Senators to the Legislature.

Fourth annual Women’s March Miami draws hundreds of supporters
By C. Isaiah Smalls II
Miami Herald
Miami Gardens played host to hundreds of women who gathered in protest of gender inequality and domestic violence, among many other things.

Women’s March in Orlando calls for equality, justice and voter turnout
By Lisa Maria Garza
Orlando Sentinel
A couple hundred people marched Sunday from Orlando City Hall to Lake Eola in solidarity with the national Women’s March movement.

Pensacola Women’s March 2020: ‘We will make an impact in the next election’
By Rebekah Castor
WEAR Pensacola
Women across the country are marching for equal rights this weekend. Those in Northwest Florida didn’t have to go all the way to Washington D.C. to protest. Nearly 200 women and men marched in Pensacola Saturday morning.

Judges Are Denying Teen Abortions for Their Own Moral Reasons
By Julia Ries
Vice
According to new research, up to 13 percent of all teens seeking to get legal approval for an abortion without their parent’s involvement or consent are getting denied by judges in Texas, up from a mere 2.8 percent only a few years before.

Sure, let’s protect Roe v. Wade. But as abortion rights erode, we must do much more.
By Megan K. Donovan
USA Today
This spring, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider its first major abortion rights case since the confirmations of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and speculation about the future of abortion rights has reached new heights.

The ACA’s Birth Control Benefit Is Back Before the Supreme Court
By Adam Sonfield
Guttmacher Institute
The federal contraceptive coverage guarantee is back before the U.S. Supreme Court, with affordable access to birth control yet again threatened by policymakers and employers opposed to reproductive health and rights.