Florida
‘Unborn child’ bill may be reworked to blunt criticism from abortion rights advocates
By John Kennedy, Capital Bureau USA Today Network-Florida
A controversial measure allowing civil lawsuits stemming from the wrongful death of an “unborn child” may be reworked to assure that it doesn’t interfere with legal access to abortion in Florida.
In Florida, U.S, reproductive freedom faces new attacks
By Barrington Salmon, Florida Phoenix
Lauren Brenzel said she sat in on a Feb. 7 Supreme Court hearing where the justices were considering the constitutionality of a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.
In wrongful death suits, FL Republicans want fetuses to be covered as soon as they’re in the womb
By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
Florida Republicans say an effort to allow expecting parents to collect damages in a wrongful death suit of an unborn child wouldn’t apply to frozen embryos created from in vitro fertilization (IVF), but abortion-rights advocates say that the plan would reduce access to reproductive health care.
‘If you really want to stop abortions, get a vasectomy’: Critics push back on new ‘unborn child’ Florida bill
By Dara Kam, News Service of Florida
A House committee on Wednesday approved a controversial measure that would allow parents to file civil lawsuits seeking damages for the wrongful death of an “unborn child,” with critics of the bill saying it is too broad and could shrink the number of doctors who deliver babies in Florida.
Controversial concept of “fetal personhood” is creeping up on Florida
By Craig Waters, Florida Trident
The national “fetal personhood” debate has arrived in Florida’s courts, and you can bet it won’t go away until it is resolved one way or another.
‘Fetal personhood’ raises questions about abortion rights in Florida
By Skyler Swisher, Orlando Sentinel
“Fetal personhood” is emerging as a battleground in Florida’s abortion debate, posing a potential roadblock to those who want to guarantee access to the procedure in the post-Roe era through the ballot box.
Will a Florida Ballot Measure to Protect Abortion Shake Up the State’s Politics This November?
By Amy Littlefield, The Nation
I’m calling it now: Florida is going to be the most important state to watch in the 2024 election.
‘No one’s coming to save us’: Abortion campaigns scramble for limited cash
By Megan Messerly and Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico
Abortion rights could be on the ballot in nearly a quarter of states this November, raising concerns among supporters about the ability to fund major campaign efforts in all of them.
Florida’s Abortion Access on Trial: State Supreme Court Weighs Proposed Ballot
By Emily Fiorini-Casamayouret, MediaLab@FAU
In case you missed it, abortion may be on the ballot in Florida this coming November. That decision is in the hands of the predominantly conservative Florida Supreme Court, which this week began debating whether a proposed amendment that would allow abortion access up until viability – or around 24 weeks of pregnancy – can be put to voters in a referendum this fall.
Right-Wing Org Uses Bonkers Alabama Ruling to Fight Abortion in Florida
By Jose Pagliery, The Daily Beast
Now that Alabama’s supreme court on Friday took the remarkable step of declaring that frozen embryos are “children,” a conservative group is trying to derail an expected 2024 ballot initiative in Florida that would enshrine abortion rights in that Sunshine State’s constitution.
The number of abortions performed in Florida is steadily rising
By Stephanie Colombini, WUSF Tampa
The number of patients receiving abortions in Florida each year continues to rise.
Critical services for pregnant women, babies cut from this South Florida hospital
By Kim Wynne, NBC 6 Miami
A South Florida hospital announced Wednesday it is cutting critical services for pregnant woman and their babies.
Declaring fetuses to be people would gut reproductive rights in Florida
Editorial, Orlando Sentinel
For Floridians who are already deeply uneasy about women losing the right to control their own bodies, what happened Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee was truly terrifying.
National
The women and doctors caught in the middle of a post-Roe America
Staff Report, ABC News
Related: Pregnant Texas woman travels cross-country for abortion care to save her life
With access to abortion largely banned across the South, “Nightline” follows the women and doctors navigating the gray areas of abortion restrictions from state to state.
Alabama Supreme Court Rules That Frozen Embryos Are ‘Children’
By Taiyler S. Mitchell, HuffPost
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are children, which pro-choice rights groups have warned could have dangerous implications for fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization.
‘Another hot potato’: Alabama’s IVF ruling risks political, legal backlash
By Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico
The Alabama Supreme Court ruling granting legal personhood to frozen embryos could set up a political and legal backlash against conservatives heading into the November election.
Abortion pills that patients got via telehealth and the mail are safe, study finds
By Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR
In March, the Supreme Court will hear a case about mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.
‘Something needs to change.’ Woman denied abortion in South Carolina challenges ban
By Victoria Hansen, NPR
Taylor Shelton said she isn’t ready to be a mother. She’d been using birth control for years — an intrauterine device (IUD), which is said to be more than 99% effective.
Some states are trying to protect health care data so it isn’t used against people seeking abortions
By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press
Some state governments and federal regulators were already moving to keep individuals’ reproductive health information private when a U.S. senator’s report last week offered a new jolt, describing how cellphone location data was used to send millions of anti-abortion ads to people who visited Planned Parenthood offices.
No, Trump Isn’t Pivoting to the Center on Abortion
By Alex Shephard, The New Republic
Appearing on Meet the Press on Sunday, NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson offered a chilling thought: Donald Trump, she said, “is acting like a normal politician.”
Letters to the editor
Trump’s abortion record
By Raul Hernandez, Miami, South Florida Sun Sentinel
Don’t be fooled: Trump’s positions on reproductive freedom and abortion are clear and extreme.