Florida
Orlando kickoff for Yes on 4 campaign launches this weekend
By Danielle Prieur, WMFE Orlando
A campaign aimed at protecting abortion rights in the state of Florida, is launching on Saturday, April 13 in Orlando.
Abortion, marijuana ballot measures poised for epic fight in Florida
By John Kennedy and Douglas Soule, Tallahassee Democrat
Ballot measures on abortion and marijuana are emerging as an epic clash in Florida, with forces on both sides portraying the choice facing voters as a social and cultural marker that will shape the lives of Floridians for generations.
How Florida and Arizona Supreme Court rulings change the abortion access map
By Selena Simmons-Duffin and Hilary Fung, NPR
In a few weeks, Florida and Arizona are set to join most states in the southern U.S. in banning abortion.
Florida abortion providers prepare for a public health crisis as state’s 6-week abortion ban draws closer
By Lauren Mascarenhas, Carlos Suarez and Denise Royal, CNN
At 19-years-old, Kelly Flynn was a patient seeking an abortion at a North Carolina abortion clinic. It wasn’t long before she began working at the same clinic, drawing on her experience to offer kindness and assistance to the patients around her.
Abortion Rights Are on the Ballot in Florida. Here’s Why They Might Win.
By Ryan Lizza, Politico
Abortion rights supporters have been on a hot winning streak in state ballot initiatives since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Now here comes Florida.
Backers of Florida’s abortion rights ballot question raise $2.2 million
Staff Report, News Service of Florida
A political committee leading efforts to pass a ballot initiative aimed at enshrining abortion rights in the Florida Constitution raised $2.245 million during the first three months of the year, according to a newly filed finance report.
Florida Democrats blame abortion ‘nightmare’ on Donald Trump; he blames Lindsey Graham
By Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Florida Democrats kept the pressure on Donald Trump over the issue of abortion on Tuesday, and the former president took out his frustrations on fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Trump’s abortion stance could put Florida Republicans in a bind
By Kimberly Leonard and Arek Sarkissian, Politico
There’s no state that will need to navigate Donald Trump’s abortion stance quite like Florida, which has authorized one of the strictest abortion bans in the country but also could broadly enshrine abortion rights protections in the state constitution through a ballot measure in November.
A lawsuit seeks an updated financial statement on Florida’s abortion rights amendment
Staff Report, News Service of Florida
After two Florida Supreme Court rulings last week, backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to ensure abortion rights have filed a lawsuit over a “financial impact statement” that would be presented to voters.
I Served on the Florida Supreme Court. What the New Majority Just Did Is Indefensible.
By Barbara Pariente, Slate
On April 1, the Florida Supreme Court, in a 6–1 ruling, overturned decades of decisions beginning in 1989 that recognized a woman’s right to choose—that is, whether to have an abortion—up to the time of viability.
Anti-abortion groups eye challenge if Florida voters approves ballot measure
By Arek Sarkissian, Politico
Anti-abortion groups in Florida will try to block implementation of a ballot measure protecting the procedure if voters approve the initiative in November, signaling that the fight over abortion rights in the state will likely continue far past this year’s elections.
Even when voters speak on abortion and marijuana, courts and lawmakers may get last word
By John Kennedy and Douglas Soule, Tallahassee Democrat
Giving Florida voters a chance to vote up-or-down on restoring abortion rights and letting people use recreational marijuana sounds simple enough.
Putting Abortion Question to Florida Voters is Unlikely to End Court Fights
By Patricia Mazzei, New York Times
Abortion-rights supporters celebrated last week when the Florida Supreme Court said voters could decide this fall whether to approve a state constitutional amendment protecting and expanding abortion rights in Florida.
Abortion rights advocates are on a ballot initiative winning streak. 2024 could change that
By Arit John, Steve Contorno and Michelle Shen, CNN
Abortion rights advocates are hoping to build on their winning streak this November, when ballot initiatives could restore, protect or block access in more than a dozen states.
Discussing Florida’s abortion amendment and the effect of a six-week ban
By Gabriella Pinos, WUSF Tampa
A constitutional amendment on abortion rights will be on the Florida ballot in November. It comes after the Florida Supreme Court released an opinion on the issue last week.
Why Miami’s Latino population could swing Florida’s abortion vote
By Sommer Brugal, Axios
Even as Miami-Dade County has shifted right in recent years, support for abortion rights has remained resilient among its majority Latino population, despite the group’s strong religious views and typically conservative politics.
DeSantis says abortion amendment ‘overrides’ Florida parental consent laws. Is he right?
By Alexandra Glorioso, Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
The answer will be determined by the courts, said Barry Richard, an attorney based in Tallahassee who practices constitutional law.
What Tampa Bay lawmakers are saying about Florida’s 6-week abortion ban
By Kirby Wilson, Tampa Bay Times
With a six-week abortion ban coming to Florida on May 1, Democrats are turning up the pressure on Republicans to say where they stand on the measure.
Trump says Florida voters are ‘probably going to change’ abortion laws in November
By Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Donald Trump said Florida’s “probably going to change,” indicating he believes a constitutional amendment to protect abortions in the state will pass in the fall.
State senator speaks about what’s next for abortion in Florida
By Jim DeFede, CBS Miami
This week, the Florida Supreme Court said the state privacy provision of the state constitution does not protect a woman’s right to have an abortion.
I made the tough choice to end a pregnancy. Florida abortion ban robs women of that right
By Lucia Baez-Geller, Miami Herald
In a few weeks, a new near-total abortion ban will go into effect in Florida that will restrict the exact type of healthcare I received just one year ago.
Florida 6-week abortion ban could lead to gynecologist shortage, some doctors say
By Jessica Bruno, WPTV West Palm Beach
Some doctors say restrictive abortion bans have led to fewer doctors going into gynecology, and they suspect that could continue once Florida’s six-week abortion ban goes into effect.
Gainesville groups gather downtown to fight against Florida’s six-week ban
By Nicole Beltran, Independent Florida Alligator
In the midst of downtown traffic and an afternoon sun, around 50 community members gathered together in Gainesville City Hall Plaza on East University Avenue April 6 at 1:00 p.m. to protest against Florida Supreme Court’s six-week abortion ban taking effect May 1.
Letters to the editor
Floridians can vote to undo Supreme Court’s misguided decision reversing Roe v. Wade
By Dorothy Polson, Port Charlotte, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
This misguided and selfish decision has resulted in many states following the court’s lead and passing draconian laws that have resulted in physicians in states like Texas and Alabama being afraid to save their patients’ lives in complicated pregnancies for fear of being prosecuted and jailed. In response to these draconian decisions being foisted on our citizens, voters in Florida have collected nearly 1 million signatures to add a measure to the November ballot that would guarantee a woman autonomy over her own body. Please vote “Yes” in November.
Privacy rights obliterated in Florida
By Dan Spotts, Ocean Ridge, Palm Beach Post
In their recent decision in support of a six-week ban on abortion, the Florida Supreme Court specifically invalidated a right to privacy for Florida women. But this goes beyond women and abortion. In doing so, six of the seven judges threw out more than 40 years of privacy rights under the Florida Constitution and agreed with the far-right overturn of guaranteed privacy in the U.S. Constitution.
National
What to know about the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that reinstates an 1864 near-total abortion ban
By Jacques Billeaud and Morgan Lee, Associated Press
The Arizona Supreme Court has delivered a landmark decision in giving the go-ahead to enforce a long-dormant law that bans nearly all abortions, drastically altering the legal landscape within the state around terminating pregnancies.
Democrats Hammer a Simple Attack on Abortion: Donald Trump Did This
By Lisa Lerer, Reid J. Epstein and Nicholas Nehamas, New York Times
In a meeting with her staff last week, Vice President Kamala Harris offered a prediction: Former President Donald J. Trump would not support a national abortion ban.
What Trump really said about abortion
By Rebecca Crosby and Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information
During the 2024 presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump boasted that he would “come together with all groups” on abortion and “negotiate something” that would “make both sides happy.”
Majority of women in states with abortion bans believe access should be legal
By Amanda Becker, The 19th
Nearly two years after the Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion, more than a fifth of reproductive-age adult women in states with abortion bans have struggled to access abortion care themselves or know someone who has, according to first-of-its-kind polling released Friday by the nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research group KFF.
An 1873 law banned the mailing of boxing photos. Could it block abortion pills too?
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom
An anti-obscenity law enacted in 1873 that hasn’t been enforced in decades shot to the forefront of the nation’s abortion debate in the past week thanks to two U.S. Supreme Court justices, amid expectations a future Republican president would use the law to order a nationwide ban on medication abortion.