Florida
Group behind Florida’s abortion amendment hits back at DeSantis’ tour with anti-abortion doctors
By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
Anti-abortion doctors have accompanied Gov. Ron DeSantis on a press tour this week against the amendment that would protect access to abortion in Florida’s Constitution. The sponsor of Amendment 4, Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), itself flexed support from more than 850 doctors during a press call Tuesday afternoon.
Related: Hundreds of doctors support abortion rights measure amid DeSantis opposition
DeSantis using state money, time and his power to fight abortion rights measure
By Brendan Farrington, Associated Press
After a month of updating Floridians on hurricanes, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is now focusing his official office on fighting an abortion rights amendment, holding a campaign-like rally at state expense two weeks before the election.
Related: Gov. DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Nuñez rail against abortion-rights amendment on first day of early voting
DeSantis’ office drafted threats to Florida TV stations over abortion ads, lawyer says
By Lawrence Mower and Ana Ceballos, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top deputies directed a Florida health department lawyer to threaten Florida television stations with criminal prosecution for running political advertisements that support enshrining abortion rights in the state’s Constitution, according to new court records.
Related: Top DeSantis attorneys penned letters threatening to prosecute local TV stations over abortion ad, affidavit says
Vote ‘yes’ on Amendment 4 to protect women from dangerous, possibly deadly, meddling
By Keisha Mulfort, Orlando Sentinel
As the fight for reproductive rights intensifies across the nation, Florida politicians have positioned the state as a frontline in this battleground, enacting some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
Related: ‘People like me’: Abortion rights advocates share stories, urge support for Amendment 4
DeSantis administration pushes back in fight to block abortion rights TV ad
By Dara Kam, News Service of Florida
As Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies continue to attack a ballot proposal aimed at enshrining abortion rights in the state Constitution, his administration pushed back in a legal battle about the state’s efforts to block a television ad supporting the measure.
Related: Florida abortion amendment could backfire on Ron DeSantis
Governor DeSantis Is Lying About Amendment 4
By Naomi Feinstein, Miami New Times
As Election Day 2024 nears, Gov. Ron DeSantis is working overtime to dissuade Florida voters from passing Amendment 4, the statewide initiative to enshrine the right to abortion in Florida’s constitution — and thus to preserve the six-week abortion ban he signed into law in April of 2023. In the process, he’s also spreading a lie.
Reproductive health care in the Southeast hinges on Florida abortion-rights measure, doctors say
By Sofia Resnick, Florida Phoenix
Dr. Cherise Felix says a recent patient yelled and swore at her before eventually hugging her, grateful she would no longer have to carry the planned-for baby that had died inside her.
Legal maneuvering over Florida’s abortion proposal continues
By Dara Kam, News Service of Florida
Supporters of a proposal that would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution on Monday asked a federal judge to drop the former general counsel of the Florida Department of Health from a legal battle over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration attempts to stop broadcasters from running TV ads supporting the measure.
Tampa woman in abortion-rights ad speaks out about DeSantis administration’s threat
By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
Caroline, the Tampa woman featured in the pro-abortion ad the DeSantis administration tried to force off the air, found out about the state’s threats to broadcasters over the ad as she prepared to evacuate because of Hurricane Milton.
These Abortion Storytellers Won’t Be Silenced
By Stephanie McNeal, Glamour
It had started with an abnormal Pap smear. The woman was in her mid-30s, a mother. After further testing, the bad news began to multiply: severe precancerous cells on her cervix, a suspicious growth, and finally, a diagnosis of vaginal cancer—an aggressive and rare disease.
Amendment 4 raises $17M in political donations in a week
By Gabrielle Russon, Florida Politics
In a battle with the state over whether to expand abortion rights, the political committee backing Amendment 4 continues to reach new highs in donations.
Related: UNF poll shows Florida abortion rights initiative right on the line of passage
Anonymous donor backing fight to remove Florida abortion amendment from ballot
By Romy Ellenbogen, Tampa Bay Times
The legal effort to force Florida’s abortion amendment off the ballot is being bankrolled by an unnamed donor.
Amendment 4 tops Ballotpedia’s most-watched ballot measures for 2024
By Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics
Amendment 4, which would codify abortion protections in the Florida Constitution, is at the top of Ballotpedia’s list of the most-watched ballot measures across the nation this year.
Taylor Swift-Themed Billboard Near Hard Rock Stadium Supports Florida Abortion Amendment
By Alex DeLuca, Miami New Times
A Taylor Swift-themed billboard supporting Amendment 4, which aims to protect abortion access in Florida, will be displayed along a busy route to the Taylor Swift concert in Miami this weekend.
Catholics for Choice Airs Pro-Amendment 4 Ads on Spanish-Language Radio
By Naomi Feinstein, Miami New Times
With just weeks remaining until a hotly contested November election, a Washington, D.C.-based pro-choice Catholic advocacy group has placed new advertisements on Spanish-language radio stations in Florida urging Hispanic voters to support Amendment 4, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
As Manatee County Commission votes to oppose Amendment 4, residents express outrage
By Jesse Mendoza, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Manatee County resident Glenn Pearson argued on Thursday that there was no room for government interference in 1995 when he and his wife decided to carry their child despite concerns over a possible stillborn.
Abortion and Amendment 4: Five things to know about Florida’s Election Day question
By Antigone Barton, Palm Beach Post
From 1972 to 2022, abortion was legal in Florida until 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Men in Florida: Stand up for women on Amendment 4
By Christopher Fahey, Tallahassee Democrat
My wife and I found ourselves unexpectedly pregnant one year into our marriage. Our method of birth control, which had been reliable for years, had failed us.
As a Catholic OBGYN, I urge you to vote Yes on Amendment 4
By Cecilia Grande, Miami Herald
I never thought I would feel compelled to speak to my patients and colleagues about anything remotely political.
Why it’s crucial Black Floridians support Amendment 4 this November
By Sarah Foster, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
Within Black communities in Florida, we’ve always understood that our lives are shaped by many interconnected struggles — whether it’s fighting for our families, our healthcare or our economic well-being.
Abortion is on the Florida ballot. So are girls who were sexually abused, like me
By J. Kyle Foster, Naples Daily News
In 1976, Jimmy Carter defeated incumbent Gerald Ford to become president. I was six.
Sarah’s abortion trip, an American healthcare indictment
Editorial, Palm Beach Post
A woman in need of an abortion shouldn’t have to cross five states, traveling almost 1,200 miles, to get needed healthcare.
Who are the anti-abortion judicial candidates on the ballot in Orlando in 2024?
By McKenna Schueler, Orlando Weekly
We know finding information about judges and Supreme Court justices is difficult.
National
Harris ad shows Texas woman who lost baby, nearly died amid strict abortion ban
By Colleen Long, Associated Press
A new series of Kamala Harris campaign ads seek to highlight increasingly perilous medical care for women since the fall of Roe v. Wade by telling the story of a Texas woman who got a life-threatening infection when she couldn’t get proper treatment after she miscarried and how she may no longer be able to have children.
Post-Dobbs Infant Mortality Spike Shows ‘We Must Restore Abortion Rights’
By Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams
In yet another example of what’s at stake in the November 5 elections, now just two weeks away, researchers revealed Monday that since the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June 2022, babies have died at a higher rate across the country.
White House aims to eliminate out-of-pocket spending on birth control for most Americans
By Nadra Nittle and Shefali Luthra, The 19th
President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday announced a plan that would eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for most birth control for a majority of Americans.
Birth control doesn’t cause abortions – but that misconception is blocking access
By Elizabeth Weise, USA Today
There’s a battle being waged across the country between people who see birth control as essential for women’s health, self-determination and to avoid abortions ‒ and those who claim some forms of contraception cause abortions and should not be funded by taxpayers.
County judge strikes down Ohio abortion ban, citing voter-approved reproductive rights amendment
By Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press
The most far-reaching of Ohio’s laws restricting abortion was struck down on Thursday by a county judge who said last year’s voter-approved amendment enshrining reproductive rights renders the so-called heartbeat law unconstitutional.
Letters to the editor
Vote yes on Amendment 4
By Linda Scherzinger, Marco Island, Fort Myers News-Press
Excerpt: Please vote yes on 4 to reverse the six-week ban on abortion in Florida, and restore women’s reproductive rights, as was the law for 50 years under Roe.
Living with less freedom
By Mara Kurlander, Oakland Park, South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida’s overly restrictive abortion ban puts women’s lives and health in danger. Why should men make the laws over women’s bodies?