Reproductive Rights News Roundup – April 26th 2025

 

Progress Florida

This legislative session is far from typical. Just days away from the scheduled end, the House and Senate have yet to agree on a budget or which bills will make it over the finish line. This gives us the opportunity to emphasize that we want policies that put people over profit and prioritize freedom over government interference.

One of the worst bills we’ve tracked this Session is getting dangerously close to passing. SB 1288 / HB 1505 adds extreme barriers for young people to access things like STI treatment, contraception, and mental health resources. This bill passed the House floor today with shocking revelations, confirming the worst consequences we feared: under this bill, a minor cannot contact a suicide hotline and receive help unless they have parental consent. That’s not all: if passed, this bill will make Florida the first state to ban treatment for STIs for a minor who cannot involve a parent. This is especially dangerous for minors navigating abuse as the bill will cut off key places of intervention and support.

Other critical bills to take final action on:

The legislative process is made better when everyday people get involved. Keep up the pressure, the storytelling, and the calls to lawmakers to listen to the will of their constituents!


Upcoming: One Year Since the Implementation of Florida’s Near-Total Abortion Ban

Realities of Living Under Florida's Abortion Ban. Have you been impacted by Florida's abortion ban? Have you faced barriers to getting abortion care? Made different decisions about your family planning or sexual health? You are not alone.
It’s impossible to account for every story and future changed because politicians interfered with the lives of people they’ll never meet. How has your life been impacted since the abortion ban was passed?
Tell your story.


Call for Photos: Denim Day and Sexual Assault Awareness

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In honor of denim day, we want photos of you wearing denim to commemorate sexual assault survivors.
Denim Day, Wednesday, April 30th
, is the longest-running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history. Across the world, people wear jeans and denim in solidarity with survivors and in protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence. Help us amplify this campaign by submitting your photo wearing denim by April 29th to add to our coalition posts for Denim Day later this month. (To learn more about Denim Day, click here.)


Events & Volunteer Opportunities


Free & Just Storyteller Summit in Washington D.C.
Summit runs June 22nd-June 24th
We are inviting abortion storytellers including patients, providers, physicians, and faith leaders to the Summit for a day of community and advocacy skill building and a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill. 
The deadline to apply is TODAY, April 25th.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month
In this Together Tuesdays, Sexual Assault Awareness Month w/Planned Parenthood
Tuesday, April 29th 5:30pm-6:30pm EST
Click here to register for the Zoom.

Virtual Screening of Wadjda w/Planned Parenthood & NAPAWF
Virtual Screening of Wadjda w/Planned Parenthood & NAPAWF
Friday, April 25th 6:00pm-8:00pm EST
Click here to register for the virtual event in honor of Arab-American Heritage Month.

Abortion Storytelling 101 w/We Testify 
Abortion Storytelling 101 w/We Testify
Tuesday, April 29th at 6:00pm EST
Click here to sign up if you have accessed an abortion or abortions and want to learn about storytelling.

May 1 National Day of Action w/League of Women Voters St. Pete
May 1 National Day of Action w/League of Women Voters St. Pete
Thursday, May 1st 4:30pm-6:00pm
St. Pete
Register here.

Taste of Midwifery: A Birth and Baby Expo w/Central Florida Birth Network 
Taste of Midwifery: A Birth and Baby Expo w/Central Florida Birth Network
Saturday, May 3rd 9:00am-1:00pm EST
Lake Lily in Maitland
Click here to learn more. (Want to volunteer? Click here!)


News Roundup 

Florida
Legislature nears passage of bill requiring parental consent for STD treatment, birth control
By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
A House panel advanced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit health care providers from treating minors with sexually transmitted infections and diseases without their parents’ consent.

Bill to show videos of fetal development in schools passes state House
By Chris Young, WMNF Tampa Bay
A bill that requires public school students to watch two videos on fetal development from conception until birth passed the Florida House Wednesday.

Legislature deems bills expanding exceptions to abortion ban not viable in 2025 Session
By Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics
Bills that would have amended Florida’s six-week abortion ban to allow the procedure in more cases of risk for the mother are likely to die unheard this year.

Florida pushed anti-abortion nonprofit to run ads against Amendment 4
By Romy Ellenbogen and Lawrence Mower, Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration last year gave an extra $5 million to a network of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy clinics and asked it to run advertisements opposing a proposed abortion amendment, the group confirmed Wednesday.

Bills would make it harder to pass constitutional amendments – with or without state money
By Margie Menzel, WFSU Tallahassee
The question before the Legislature is whether to further tighten the laws governing Florida’s use of citizens initiatives. The debate follows last year’s citizen initiatives on marijuana and abortion.

A national funder of anti-abortion groups may get a tax break from Florida
By Jason Garcia, Seeking Rents
Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature is quietly working on a tax break that would benefit one of the nation’s leading financiers of right-wing conservative causes — a multibillion-dollar organization that has funded efforts across the country to ban abortion, cut off access to birth control, and roll back rights for gay and transgender people.

Senate votes to codify DeSantis’ faith initiative, drawing criticism over anti-abortion campaigning
By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
The Senate voted Thursday to codify Gov. Ron DeSantis’ faith and community initiative amid scrutiny of the initiative’s former leader’s involvement in campaigning against the unsuccessful abortion-rights amendment.

Legislature again shuts out proposal to better protect pregnant prisoners
By Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics
Expectant mothers sentenced to prison will have to keep waiting for better considerations in Florida’s criminal justice system as legislation to pause their incarceration until they give birth is likely to die without a hearing.

Poll: Floridians Oppose Florida’s Abortion Law, Despite Backing Trump in 2024
By Jessica Abramsky and Briana Bermudez, MediaLab@FAU
Nearly half of Florida voters oppose the state’s current abortion law, according to a new poll released on Wednesday by MediaLab@FAU. Just over a third support it and the rest don’t know what to think.

Early prenatal care now available at Planned Parenthood to meet the need in Southwest and Central Florida
By Cary Barbor, WGCU Fort Myers
Early prenatal care is important, and can be difficult to get in Southwest Florida.

National

People in states with abortion bans are twice as likely to die during pregnancy
By Shefali Luthra, The 19th
Pregnant people living in states with abortion bans are almost twice as likely to die during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, a report released Wednesday found.

White House Assesses Ways to Persuade Women to Have More Children
By Caroline Kitchener, New York Times
The White House has been hearing out a chorus of ideas in recent weeks for persuading Americans to get married and have more children, an early sign that the Trump administration will embrace a new cultural agenda pushed by many of its allies on the right to reverse declining birthrates and push conservative family values.

How idea of charging women with murder infiltrated the anti-abortion movement
By Carter Sherman, The Guardian
So far this year, lawmakers in at least 12 states have introduced legislation that would treat fetuses as people and leave women who have abortions vulnerable to being charged with homicide – a charge that, in several of these states, carries the death penalty.

Abortion saved her. Now it could cost her freedom.
By Angela Dennis, States Newsroom
Kneeling on the cold bathroom floor of her apartment, Kisha clutched the pregnancy test she had just picked up from the Walgreens down the street.

Black maternal health advocates, researchers press on amid federal funding cuts
By Nada Hassanein, States Newsroom
Before everything went black, Tamika Jackson felt like she was drowning. While in labor giving birth to her baby boy, her body felt heavy and her breaths shallow.

Ob/gyns in states with abortion bans face risks, but new study shows that most stayed after Dobbs
By Deidre McPhillips, CNN
Doctors across the United States who provide obstetrics and gynecology care have been confronted with new restrictions and uncertainties – and sometimes significant legal risks – that continue to unfold in the three years since the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion.

The Tariffs Are Coming for Baby Products
By Nena Farrell, Wired
Being a parent is an expensive experience. A stroller alone can easily cost over a thousand dollars, not to mention the constant new clothing as children grow, formula and food for them to eat, and the rising costs (and challenge to find) of childcare.


Job Openings

Plan C
Plan C
is hiring an Operations Manager.
$85,000-$105,000
Apply by 4/30.

Ballot Initiative Strategy Center
The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) is hiring an Executive Assistant.
$70,000-$75,000/year.
Apply here.

Florida Access Network
Florida Access Network is hiring a Digital Organizer.
$50,000-$55,000/year.
Apply by 4/30.

Home • Abortion Access Front
Abortion Access Front is hiring a Social Media Manager.
$60,000-$65,000/year.
Apply here.

Primary Email Header for Collective Power
The Emerging Leaders Network is accepting applications for their year-long program for organizers.
Learn more and apply by 6/1.

Who We Are • EducateUS
Educate Us is hiring for their Youth Advisory Board.
Apply by 5/23.

American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU is hiring a Summer Social Media intern.
Stipend available.
Apply here.


Progress Florida
is hiring a Digital Organizer.
$38,000-$50,000/year.
Apply here.

Men 4 Choice is hiring a Communications Director.
Men 4 Choice
is hiring a Communications Director.
$70,000-$85,000/year.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Power to Decide
Power to Decide is hiring a Philanthropy Director.
$108,000-$125,000/year, fully remote.
Click here to apply.

Equality Florida - Wikipedia
Equality Florida & Mukti Fund
 are hiring a Community Organizing Fellow, Grants Fellow, & Health, Education, and Program Impact fellow.
Learn more here.

ERA Coalition
The ERA Coalition
is hiring Public Policy & Social Media interns.
Class credit available.
Learn more here.

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