Florida
Lakeland woman describes agony of forced birth under Florida’s strict abortion law
By Tom Scherberger, WMNF Tampa Bay
Deborah Dorbert of Lakeland was a few months pregnant when her doctor delivered disturbing news: Her unborn child had Potter’s Syndrome, which meant he did not have kidneys and his lungs were not developing normally. He likely would not survive outside the womb.
FL House Speaker Renner misleads on abortion amendment
By Maria Briceño and Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact
Florida’s Amendment 4, which would expand access to abortion if approved by voters in November, says abortions cannot be prohibited before fetal viability, or when a health care provider determines it’s necessary to protect a patient’s health, which is called a health risk exception.
Florida’s six-week abortion ban has outsized effect on Black Floridians
By Nancy Metayer Bowen, Deborah Coffy and Ciné Julien, South Florida Sun Sentinel
The enactment of a near-total ban on abortion in Florida will reshape the landscape of reproductive rights.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban and general ignorance of two key facts
By Laurel Elder, Mary-Kate Lizotte, Steven Greene, The Conversation
Most Americans don’t know two key facts about pregnancy, including how they are dated and how long a trimester is — and this could matter, as a growing number of states place restrictions on abortion.
I grew up Catholic. Here’s why I’m fighting against Florida’s six-week abortion ban
By Olga Granda, Miami Herald
As a Catholic Cuban-American mother, I may not be the most obvious supporter of Amendment 4, but shouldn’t I be?
Could Florida’s new abortion restrictions ‘drive doctors away?’
Staff Report, WPTV West Palm Beach
Florida doctors who care for pregnant patients say they’re struggling under the weight of abortion restrictions that took effect earlier this month, banning the procedure in most instances after six weeks into a pregnancy.
Florida Dems want the fight to pass the abortion rights amendment to be intergenerational
By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
Laurie Plotnick recalled marching in rallies and signing petitions advocating for access to legal and safe abortions. Roe v. Wade was decided when she had just graduated college.
Liberals and conservatives try energizing voters with Florida’s abortion amendment
By Verónica Zaragovia, WLRN Miami
On the day that Florida’s six-week ban on abortion went into effect, Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech on reproductive rights in Jacksonville — a city that narrowly elected a Democratic mayor last year, Donna Deegan, after the state had crushed Democrats in the 2022 election.
In face of abortion ban, DeSantis says Florida is family-friendly. Is it?
By Romy Ellenbogen, Tampa Bay Times
Some health advocates say that Florida still has a ways to go to improve maternal and children’s health access and outcomes.
Getting an abortion is hard for people from states with bans. It’s even harder if they’re undocumented.
By Shefali Luthra, The 19th
This year’s abortion bans in Florida and Arizona — following an older near-total prohibition in Texas — threaten to make the procedure virtually unattainable for undocumented people living in those states.
In South Florida, a Democrat’s pitch links abortion, immigration and freedom
By Mel Leonor Barclay, The 19th
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell says her mother immigrated from Ecuador with young daughters in search of freedom and safety.
‘I’m turning away patients every day:’ Georgia OB-GYN talks about the effects of abortion bans
By Stephanie Colombini, WUSF Tampa
It’s been more than one week since Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1. But residents in nearby states like Georgia have been dealing with similar restrictions for nearly two years.
His Pregnancy Came as a Shock. Florida’s Abortion Law Made It Harder
By Shefali Luthramay, Time
Jasper never considered he might be pregnant. Despite the nausea, the stomach pain, the fatigue, the possibility never crossed his mind.
The average Florida mom gives birth at 30, data shows
By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios
53.3% of Florida babies born in 2023 had birth mothers in their 30s and older, according to provisional CDC data.
National
Dobbs Has Created a Healthcare Apocalypse
By Abby Vesoulis, Mother Jones
Dr. Leilah Zahedi-Spung spent four years in medical school, four years in an OB-GYN residency, and three years in a maternal-fetal medicine fellowship learning how to care for high-risk pregnant patients.
Broad Public Support for Legal Abortion Persists 2 Years After Dobbs
Staff Report, Pew Research Center
Nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a national right to abortion, a majority of Americans continue to express support for abortion access.
One year after FDA approves over-the-counter birth control pill, advocates push for more access
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris, States Newsroom
Sriha Srinivasan remembers how surprised her mom was two years ago when she learned that birth control pills weren’t sold in stores without a prescription in the United States.
State Abortion Bans Threaten Nearly 7 Million Black Women, Exacerbate the Existing Black Maternal Mortality Crisis
By Camille Kidd, Shaina Goodman and Katherine Gallagher Robbins
National Partnership for Women & Families
Nearly two years later, the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade continues to significantly harm millions of people across the nation, impeding their access to abortion, disrupting their economic futures, and putting their health and even their lives at risk.
The number of births continues to fall, despite abortion bans
By Tim Henderson, States Newsroom
Births continued a historic slide in all but two states last year, making it clear that a brief post-pandemic uptick in the nation’s birth numbers was all about planned pregnancies that had been delayed temporarily by COVID-19.