Reproductive Rights News Roundup

Florida lawmakers say further abortion restrictions likely
By Mary Ellen Klas
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Supercharged by a super-majority in the House and Senate, Florida legislative leaders broke their silence Wednesday and confirmed they are prepared to further tighten abortion restrictions in Florida in the next year.

Abortion foes press DeSantis for quick action on additional abortion restrictions
By Michael Moline
Florida Phoenix
Anti-abortion activists plan to rally at the Florida Capitol when the Legislature gathers there on Nov. 22 to reorganize following the midterm elections and demand that lawmakers take up new restrictions on the procedure before the end of the year.

Florida athletics leaders vote to keep menstrual questions on annual form — for now
By Katherine Kokal
Palm Beach Post
Florida high school athletics leaders voted Monday to keep questions about females’ menstrual history on their annual athlete registration forms despite outrage about whether the questions were appropriate in the post-Roe environment as well as concerns that students’ medical histories were being kept at their schools.

In election, support for abortion rights was about much more
By Jocelyn Gecker and Nuha Dolby
Associated Press
To Mona Cohen, a lifelong Philadelphia Democrat, democracy is under attack in the United States. In the midterm elections, she lists a woman’s right to abortion as one of many fleeting freedoms she voted to defend.

In the US Midterm Elections, Resounding Victories for Abortion on State Ballot Measures
Staff Report
Guttmacher Institute
With Roe v. Wade’s federal constitutional protection for abortion overturned by the US Supreme Court in June, the stakes for abortion access were high in yesterday’s US midterm elections.

How Democrats Used the Abortion Debate to Hold Off a Red Wave
By Lisa Lerer and Elizabeth Dias
New York Times
For months, the midterm elections appeared to be a clash over rising prices, public safety worries and fears of a looming recession.

Even red-state voters back abortion rights via ballot questions, rejecting court ruling
By Jennifer Shutt
Florida Phoenix
Voters in five states — including GOP-dominated Kentucky — backed abortion rights Tuesday, signaling that while the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority no longer believes the procedure is protected within the U.S. Constitution, many Americans want their states to do just that.

‘We Told You So’: The Abortion Issue Drove the Midterms
By Linda Burstyn
Ms. Magazine
In the weeks leading up to the recent mid-term election, the pundits and the mass media were beating the drumbeat of doom for Democrats so loudly that many voices in the party began to wonder if they themselves had gone deaf.

Abortion Rights Are a Winning Strategy
By Madison Pauley
Mother Jones
In state after state on Election Day, voters sent a resounding message: “Abortion rights matter to us.”

Abortion is on the ballot. Here’s why you should care
By Meg Baldwin
Tallahassee Democrat
“Abortion is on the ballot this Nov. 8th.”  Everyone’s heard this “get-out-the-vote” message — but does your vote really matter?

White Women Were Up In Arms When Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. Why Did They Still Vote Red?
By Candace McDuffie
The Root
The battle for control of Congress remains too close to call, but the exit polls from the 2022 midterms revealed something that Black folks have always known: white people continue to be the biggest threat to American democracy.

Report Claims Florida Will Have Highest Death Rates if Abortion Banned
Staff Report
West Orlando News
A new report is claiming Florida will see a 29 percent increase in maternal death rate should a statewide ban on abortion go into place.

‘This is what we feared’: Latinas are largest group of women of color affected by abortion bans
By Christine Fernando
USA Today
Latinas are the largest group of women of color affected by current or potential state abortion bans and restrictions, according to an analysis of data published by two advocacy groups.

Mixed findings for Florida from national health report
By Kathleen Corso
WPLG Miami
A newly released national study is providing details about healthcare issues facing women and children in our state.

DeSantis’ Policies Are Terrible for Moms. He Convinced Them Otherwise.
By Kiera Butler
Mother Jones
On Election Day, the much-hyped red wave didn’t crest quite as high as some polls predicted it would, with Democrats scoring key victories in several states.

How abortion is guiding Central Florida voters ahead of the general election
By Joe Mario Pedersen
WMFE Orlando
Florida voters are heading to the polls and for many, the issue of abortion is driving their decisions on the ballot.

As voters worry about inflation, Democrats still hope abortion rights drives voter turnout — against Republicans
By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Abortion rights is such an important issue to Rebecca Thompson, of Pembroke Pines, that she brought her 2-year-old daughter with her to early vote.

America’s red-state abortion wipeout
By Caitlin Owens
Axios
The number of abortions performed in the U.S. fell by about 6% after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to data from the Society of Family Planning.

Conservative lawyers hail Alito for abortion ruling
By Josh Gerstein
Politico
Conservative lawyers erupted in thunderous applause and delivered a standing ovation to Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday night for the 5-4 opinion he authored earlier this year overturning a federal constitutional right to abortion that had been recognized for nearly half a century.

State, Florida Abortion Clinic Reach Settlement
Staff Report
News Service Of Florida
The state Agency for Health Care Administration and a Miami abortion clinic have reached a settlement over allegations that the clinic did not properly comply with a law requiring 24-hour waiting periods before abortions can be performed.