Florida
Abortion clinics up the East Coast see longer wait times after Florida law
By Caitlin Gilbert, Caroline Kitchener, Janice Kai Chen, Washington Post
The average Florida resident now lives about 590 miles from the nearest clinic that offers abortions after six weeks and will need to wait nearly 14 days to end her pregnancy past that point.
‘Rape’ not defined in Florida law. How will doctors know if they can perform an abortion?
By Ana GonÞi-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat
“Rape” isn’t defined in Florida statutes. So how will a doctor providing an abortion know if they’re breaking the law?
DeSantis approves state-funded pregnancy resources website that will not mention abortion
By McKenna Schueler, Orlando Weekly
As abortion providers and people with unwanted pregnancies navigate the challenges of Florida’s new six-week abortion ban, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill, supported by anti-abortion groups, that directs the state to create a taxpayer-funded website offering “pregnancy and parenting resources.”
DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida health agency to set up website for pregnancy, parenting resources
Staff Report, News Service of Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a contentious measure that directs the Florida Department of Health to set up a website that provides “information and links to certain pregnancy and parenting resources,” the governor’s office announced Sunday.
To support Amendment 4, Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition launches voter info tool
By Gabrielle Russon, Florida Politics
With the fight for abortion rights leading up to the November election, the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition is launching a new tool to help get out the vote.
New data reveals surge in Florida abortions before 6-week law took effect
Staff Report, News Service of Florida
More than 22,000 abortions were performed in Florida this year before a law took effect May 1 preventing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
CBS News poll: Abortion access finds wide support, but inflation and immigration concerns boost Trump in Arizona and Florida
By Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna, CBS News
When Arizona and Florida attracted the national spotlight over their abortion battles, this question arose: Would the issue upend the presidential contests in those states — or offset the drag on President Biden that inflation and the border have had on him nationally?
Michigan’s lessons for Florida Democrats
By Kimberly Leonard, Politico
Democrats want Florida to enshrine abortion rights into the state Constitution, just like Michigan did two years ago.
Addressing Florida’s infant mortality rate and barriers to health care
By Gabriella Pinos, WUSF Tampa
Although Florida has spent millions of dollars on maternal and infant health, its infant mortality rate has remained nearly stagnant for about a decade.
Florida is seeing more babies delivered by C-section
By Carly Mallenbaum and Yacob Reyes, Axios
The rate of cesarean births in Florida is higher than the national average.
A haunting abortion question: Could Florida’s ban force unwilling women to terminate?
Editorial, Orlando Sentinel
Put yourself in the shoes of a young Central Florida woman staring down at a little blue plus sign on a pregnancy test. It’s bad news. She’s always wanted children someday, but she doubts she is ready now.
National
Exclusive: 6,000 doctors urge the Supreme Court to keep abortions in medical emergencies legal
By Shefali Luthra, The 19th
Nearly 6,000 doctors, hailing from all 50 states, have drafted a letter asking the Supreme Court to uphold a federal law that requires hospital emergency departments to provide abortions when they are needed to stabilize patients.
Trump signals he’s open to state limits on contraceptive access, then insists he’s not
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom
Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president, suggested during a taped interview with a Pittsburgh TV news station Tuesday that he might be open to states restricting access to contraceptives, though he later appeared to backtrack.
Members of the U.S. Senate face a vote on whether they support contraception access
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom
U.S. senators will go on record next month with whether they support legislation from Democrats that would guarantee access to contraception — a right currently upheld by two Supreme Court cases, but one that has been singled out by a conservative justice.
Louisiana Lawmakers Vote to Make Abortion Pills Controlled Substances
By Emily Cochrane and Pam Belluck, New York Times
Louisiana lawmakers passed legislation on Thursday to make the state the first in the nation to designate abortion pills as dangerous controlled substances.
Republicans try to soften stance on abortion as ‘abolitionists’ go farther
By Sarah McCammon, NPR
As some Republicans try to moderate their messaging on abortion over concerns about voter backlash this November, some activists are trying to go much further.
Republicans want a database of pregnant people. In many ways, abortion surveillance is already here
By Nicole Karlis, Salon
Last week, leading up to Mother’s Day, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS Act), a bill that would create a federal database for pregnant people nationwide.
What happens to clinics after a state bans abortion? They fight to survive.
By Shefali Luthra and Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th
Voters in several states will likely have the chance to reverse their states’ abortion bans this November — but the election results could come too late for clinics that have been forced to scale back or even shut down while those bans were in effect.