Reproductive Rights News Roundup – August 4th 2023

Florida

Republicans dominate in Florida. Abortion and pot could change that.
By Gary Fineout
Politico
Florida Democrats see a possible path to winning America’s once-foremost battleground state: Abortion and marijuana.

Activists on both sides of the abortion issue are trying to change Florida’s constitution
By Scott Simon
NPR
Abortion rights advocates are beginning to see Florida as a potential foothold for access in the South.

The future of abortion in Florida could hinge on Hispanic voters
By Mel Leonor Barclay
The 19th
The campaign to secure abortion rights in Florida and create a haven for access in the South is facing a tough road to success. To build a winning coalition, rallying support from the state’s Hispanic voters will be crucial.

Florida’s 2024 Ballot May Include Abortion Rights, Marijuana Legalization
By Zane McNeill
Truthout
Organizers in Florida have collected more than a million signatures to put constitutional amendments protecting abortion access and legalizing marijuana on the 2024 ballot.

DeSantis’ latest comments slammed by anti-abortion group as ‘unacceptable’
By Natalie Allison
Politico
The nation’s leading anti-abortion group on Monday called Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failure to support federal abortion restrictions “unacceptable” — a blow for the Florida Republican, who has passed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

Pence, Scott pile on DeSantis over stance on nationwide abortion restrictions
By Matt Berg
Politico
A pair of GOP presidential candidates took aim Monday night at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his refusal to support nationwide abortion restrictions after the country’s leading anti-abortion group criticized his stance.

Ron DeSantis concedes abortion ban would not play well in New England
By A.G. Gancarski
Florida Politics
Gov. Ron DeSantis may have signed the harshest abortion law in state history, but he continues to say he’s not willing to export that prohibition to all 50 states.

VP Harris speech on FL Black history standards: ‘There were no redeeming qualities of slavery’
By Mitch Perry
Florida Phoenix
Excerpt: Harris spoke about faith and the church for the first five minutes of her 18-minute speech before pivoting to politics, where she assailed “extremists” on a number of fronts, including abortion. “Across our nation, extremists pass laws that criminalize doctors and take away the freedom for a woman to make decisions about her own body,” she said. Cognizant of her audience, Harris added that “one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that government should not be telling her what to do with her body,” as the crowd cheered. “Let her make that decision with her pastor or her priest, or her rabbi, but not her government telling her what to do.”

A new report details obstacles to maternity care in Florida
By Cathy Carter
WUSF Tampa
Access to health care during pregnancy and around the time of birth is easier to find in some areas of the country than in others.

‘A steadfast leader’: EMILY’s List backs Daniella Levine Cava for re-election as Miami-Dade Mayor
By Jesse Scheckner
Florida Politics
One of the nation’s largest abortion rights groups is again backing Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s campaign for the county’s most powerful local office.

Voters could decide the future of abortion access in Florida
By Regan McCarthy
NPR
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, advocates have turned their eyes toward Florida as a potential foothold for abortion rights in the Southeastern U.S.

National

The Comstock Act: The 150 year-old law conservatives are banking on to ban abortion
By Grace Haley
Abortion, Every Day
The Comstock Act was passed by Congress in 1873 during a decades-long crusade against what religious conservatives considered “obscene.”

Abortion Denied: Reproductive Injustice Behind Bars
By Victoria Law
The Nation
K. Winston didn’t know she was pregnant when she entered the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Study cited by Texas judge in abortion-pill case under investigation
By Sofia Resnick
Florida Phoenix
Pharmaceutical sciences professor Chris Adkins was perusing news on his computer in December when he came across an item that fascinated him: Anti-abortion groups had sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to force a recall on a commonly used abortion drug.

Lawsuit over Texas abortion ban could be a model in other states
By David Montgomery
States Newsroom
A lawsuit in Texas asserting that the state’s abortion ban imperils women by dissuading doctors from ending dangerous pregnancies could provide a template for similar challenges across the country.