Florida
Florida Supreme Court upholds strict abortion bans while giving voters a say in November
By Arek Sarkissian, Politico
The Florida Supreme Court has upheld the state’s ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy but also ruled that a ballot initiative seeking to protect the procedure can go before voters in November.
Abortion advocates plan Orlando rally this month to support abortion rights measure
By McKenna Schueler
Orlando Weekly
Abortion rights advocates are planning to rally in Orlando this month in support of a ballot measure that would strengthen abortion rights in Florida.
Florida politicos react to Supreme Court ruling putting abortion on 2024 ballot
Staff Report, Florida Politics
The Florida Supreme Court’s major ruling Monday will allow voters to weigh in on whether to amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights until the point of viability.
5 key takeaways from the Florida Supreme Court’s abortion rulings
By Romy Ellenbogen and Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times
In a momentous day for reproductive health in Florida, the state’s Supreme Court on Monday issued opinions that usher in a six-week abortion ban but leave open a way for the state’s voters to protect and expand access to the procedure.
Florida abortion providers brace for six-week ban: ‘Where are these 80,000 patients gonna go?’
By Carter Sherman, The Guardian
Florida, the last bastion of abortion access in the south-eastern United States, will ban abortion past six weeks of pregnancy starting next month, leaving abortion providers and their supporters in the state and across the country scrambling to deal with the fallout for patients.
Planned Parenthood centers in Florida prepare for a six-week abortion ban
By Stephanie Colombini, WUSF Tampa
Planned Parenthood officials in Florida say they’ve been preparing for months for the possibility of a six-week abortion ban.
Florida clinics to help women travel out of state due to 6-week abortion ban
By Christopher O’Donnell and Sam Ogozalek, Tampa Bay Times
It’s a nearly 10-hour car drive from Tampa to a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have nationwide impact, critics warn
By Caroline Catherman, Orlando Sentinel
Abortion-right advocates are predicting a national fallout from the Florida Supreme Court’s decision Monday to allow a six-week abortion ban to take effect on May 1.
Activist: Florida abortion ban could lead to ‘largest public health crisis’ since overturn of Roe v. Wade
By Abby Phillip, CNN
CNN’s Abby Phillip speaks with Lauren Brenzel, the campaign director of Yes on 4, which helped coordinate support to include an abortion ballot initiative in Florida in the November 2024 elections, after Florida’s Supreme Court allowed the state to institute a six-week abortion ban.
‘Confusion and terror’ set in for pregnant women after ruling upholds Florida abortion ban
By Carmen Sesin, NBC News
It was a busy day, as usual, at the Planned Parenthood clinic tucked away in the Golden Glades area of Miami two days after Florida’s Supreme Court upheld a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. What made the day unusual was many women were alarmed and “freaking out” over the ban.
‘No help here’: Florida abortion ruling leaves women with few options
By Caroline Kitchener, Washington Post
More than 80,000 women get an abortion in Florida in a typical year — accounting for about 1 in 12 abortions in the country. Now, most of those women will need to find somewhere else to go.
Abortion fund sees little “rage giving” with six-week ban looming
By Kathryn Varn, Axios
Donations poured into the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, but a similar spike has yet to materialize this week as the clock started ticking for a new six-week abortion ban to go into effect May 1.
Top Democrats denounce Florida’s abortion ban at congressional hearing in Fort Lauderdale
By Verónica Zaragovia and Sergio R. Bustos, WLRN Miami
Dr. Ian Joseph Bishop, of Miami-Dade, says Florida’s 15-week abortion ban is causing he and his colleagues to choose between caring for pregnant women facing medical danger and abiding by a restrictive state law.
Abortion, marijuana measures raise hope for Democrats in Trump’s home state
By John Kennedy and Savannah Kuchar, USA Today Network
Ballot measures on abortion access and recreational marijuana may jolt election season in Florida, driving turnout among women and younger voters while giving Democrats renewed hope in former President Trump’s home state.
Florida Dems decry Biden politicizing abortion ballot effort
By Arek Sarkissian and Kimberly Leonard, Politico
Florida Democrats, fearing politicization will sink a November ballot measure protecting abortion, are warning President Joe Biden’s campaign not to alienate Republicans.
Trump mostly silent on Florida’s 6-week abortion ban. He’ll say more next week.
By Max Greenwood, Miami Herald
Well before Donald Trump stormed onto the political scene nearly a decade ago, he was far from a staunch opponent of abortion rights.
Florida Supreme Court puts abortion on the ballot – and hands Trump a serious problem
By Rex Huppke, USA Today
In the end, Ron “DeSanctimonious” DeSantis may get his revenge on Donald Trump – just not in the way he expected.
In Florida, we could all soon be Kate Cox
By Fran Sachs, Palm Beach Post
As I read more and more about the latest restrictions on reproductive health across the country, I feel like finding Kate Cox, the Texas woman who recently tried so desperately to safely and legally end her pregnancy with her local doctor due to a horrific fetal anomaly.
Abortion rights advocates blast court ruling that allows Florida’s six-week ban to go into effect
By Stephanie Colombini, WUSF Tampa
Abortion rights in Florida will change dramatically in 30 days.
Anti-abortion Florida justices will share ballot with abortion in November
By Alexandra Glorioso, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
During the Republican presidential debate in Miami last November following a successful Ohio abortion referendum, Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked how he saw a “path forward for Republicans on this issue.”
Florida’s abortion vote: 3 justices tried to block it. 2 will be on your ballot this fall
By Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel
You probably know by now that you’ll be asked to vote this fall on the biggest reproductive-rights issue in Florida history.
Florida Republicans say abortion ballot question more ‘extreme’ than their 6-week ban
By Alexandra Glorioso, Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida is entering a unique period for pregnant people after a set of state Supreme Court decisions dropped late afternoon Monday both cleared the way for a six-week ban on abortions and opened the door for broad access to the procedure come November.
‘Undo the damage’: Groups react to Florida Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion
By Alessandra Young, WFLA Tampa Bay
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday issued two rulings regarding abortion.
Gov. DeSantis predicts voters will reject ‘radical’ ballot measures to protect abortion rights, legalize recreational weed
By A.G. Gancarski, Florida Politics
Florida’s Governor is sounding off about “radical” citizens initiatives approved to be on the ballot by the Supreme Court he selected.
Rep. Kathy Castor doesn’t approve of FL Supreme Court’s ‘stalling tactics’ on abortion rights
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
Count U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor among Floridians disappointed that the Florida Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on two major issues regarding abortion rights.
Florida court’s abortion ruling is based on lies
By Jordan Zakarin, The Progress Report
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday delivered a devastating blow to reproductive rights while handing activists a glimmer of hope and extra motivation for the coming election.
Editorials
On abortion, Floridians have chance to remedy Supreme Court’s tortured logic
Editorial, Tampa Bay Times
The Florida Supreme Court ruling on abortion Monday marks an uncertain future for reproductive rights and privacy more generally.
An abortion ban tempered only by the right to vote on it
Editorial, South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Florida Supreme Court tore a page from the Florida Constitution and flung it in the faces of the people Monday by effectively banning abortion in Florida. Six of the seven justices said the word “privacy” does not mean what most people sensibly assume it does.
Court sides with Florida’s extreme abortion ban, but at least voters now have a voice
Editorial, Miami Herald
In a pair of rulings on Monday, the Florida Supreme Court took power away from women to make reproductive choices while allowing voters, potentially, to restore it.
Creators of Florida’s extreme abortion bans now mislead the public on ballot amendment
Editorial, Miami Herald
The same state leaders who banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy — without exceptions for rape and incest — and barely waited a year to pass a six-week ban, are now calling a ballot referendum to restore reproductive rights “extreme.” That makes no sense.
Florida reproductive rights are now in your hands. Go vote.
Editorial, Palm Beach Post
Don’t be deterred by the Florida Supreme Court’s affirmation of Florida’s after-15-week abortion ban. There’s only one message to take away from this week’s dual rulings on reproductive rights: In the final analysis, you’re the one who gets to make the rules in November. So, just vote.
Infant mortality: An intolerable Florida tragedy
Editorial, South Florida Sun Sentinel
An unconscionable paradox exists in America, and especially in Florida. It is made up of the politicians who advocate stridently for life in the womb but care not nearly so much, if at all, whether babies, once born, will live healthy or die.
National
Republicans are rushing to defend IVF. The anti-abortion movement hopes to change their minds
By Megan Messerly and Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico
Anti-abortion advocates worked for five decades to topple Roe v. Wade. They’re now laying the groundwork for a yearslong fight to curb in vitro fertilization.
Backers of Arizona ballot measure to guarantee abortion rights say they’ve collected 500,000 signatures
By Gloria Rebecca Gomez, States Newsroom
The effort to guarantee abortion access in Arizona has now surpassed the number of signatures it needs to qualify for the ballot — and the campaign said it will keep collecting signatures in order to ensure that Arizona voters will get to weigh in this year on whether abortion should be protected.
Mayes, other Democratic AGs ask SCOTUS to block red state bans on emergency abortions
By Gloria Gomez, Florida Phoenix
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and nearly two dozen other Democratic-led states urged the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve the ability of emergency room doctors to provide abortions, arguing that failing to do so would have devastating effects for their health care systems and women across the country.
Most Americans say criminalizing abortion is wrong — and are divided on deportation
By Domenico Montanaro, NPR
Americans almost unanimously reject criminalizing abortion and are strongly opposed to political violence but most also believe the country is too politically correct and are split on whether to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.