Florida
Florida abortion rights brawl transforms normally boring budget committee into a battleground
By Arek Sarkissian, Politico
A normally prosaic budgeting process for proposed constitutional amendments in Florida ended in frustration — and legal threats — after Gov. Ron DeSantis and another state Republican leader tapped anti-abortion advocates to sit on a panel overseeing the state’s abortion-rights ballot measure that will be in front of voters in the fall.
Related: Appeals court rejects Florida abortion financial impact statement request
Abortion rights advocates calls out ‘sham of a process’ leading to language warning about Amendment 4 costs
By Gabrielle Russon, Florida Politics
Abortion rights advocates complained of “dirty tricks” after a state panel drafted ballot language to appear next to an abortion rights initiative that critics worry could scare off voters due to warnings about potential high litigation costs.
Related: Abortion amendment supporters call ballot statement a ‘dirty trick’
Related: Florida abortion rights groups push back against some wording set to appear on November ballot
The campaign to defeat Amendment 4 is just starting
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
Advocates for a constitutional amendment to ensure abortion rights in Florida have been on a roll since they announced their campaign a year ago, raising more than $38 million to date with polls showing that the proposal is likely to meet the 60% threshold required for passage.
DeSantis misleads while taking a swipe at Florida abortion amendment
By Louis Jacobson and Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact
In a breakfast address to home state Republican delegates today, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized two constitutional amendments that Florida voters will vote on later this year, one on abortion and the other on recreational marijuana. But DeSantis mischaracterized the reach of the abortion measure.
Focus group: Florida swing voters confused by abortion amendment
By Yacob Reyes, Axios
Florida swing voters say abortion rights will influence their vote in November, but they find the ballot question’s wording unclear, according to our latest focus group with Engagious/Sago.
With abortion ballot initiative looming, both sides fighting for ground and money
By Gabrielle Russon, Florida Politics
A group targeting Hispanic voters knocked on 100,000 doors in Osceola County in the hopes of building momentum for an upcoming abortion rights ballot initiative.
Florida House Speaker Paul Renner’s PAC adds $1 million to fight a proposed amendment protecting abortion rights
Staff Report, News Service of Florida
A political committee led by House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, contributed $1 million this month to trying to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights.
Religious leaders weigh in on Florida abortion amendment
By Hayley Crombleholme, WESH Orlando
With just months until Election Day, Florida’s faith leaders are weighing in on where they stand on the issues.
Nikki Fried: J.D. Vance pick signals Trump’s true stance on abortion rights
By Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said that in selecting U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance as GOP vice president nominee, Donald Trump sent an unmistakable message about where he stands on abortion.
Kamala Harris postpones scheduled visit to Palm Beach County to talk abortion rights
By Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post
Vice President Kamala Harris has postponed a trip planned for this week to Palm Beach County to meet with Republican women voters because of Saturday’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania, according to a campaign source.
This Tampa Bay moms group wants better maternity leave, child care, health
By Sharon Kennedy Wynne, Tampa Bay Times
At an organizational meeting Tuesday night to start Tampa Bay’s own chapter of Chamber of Mothers, sticky notes were soon filling the feedback boards, with success stories like “started a co-op” for child care and complaints of “my job doesn’t cover the cost of child care so I had to become a (stay-at-home mom).”
National
Trump brags about ending Roe. No one’s talking about it in Milwaukee.
By Megan Messerly, Politico
Overturning Roe is one of the crowning achievements of Donald Trump’s presidency. No one at the Republican National Convention is talking about it.
Anti-Abortion Firebrands Are Celebrating the Trump-Vance Ticket
By Julianne McShane, Mother Jones
After former President Trump announced on Monday that he had picked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate, anti-abortion advocates appear to be celebrating—and they have good reason to.
Anti-abortion researchers back riskier procedures when pregnancy termination is needed, experts say
By Sofia Resnick, States Newsroom
The day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the medical board that certifies OB-GYNs in America released a statement calling legal pregnancy termination and knowledge of abortion procedures “essential to reproductive health care.”
More than 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF, AP-NORC poll finds
By Colleen Long and Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Associated Press
Relatively few Americans fully endorse the idea that a fertilized egg should have the same rights as a pregnant woman.
Proposed first-ever federal standards for maternal care met with mixed response from hospitals
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris, States Newsroom
As part of President Joe Biden’s initiative to reduce maternal mortality rates and improve health outcomes in underserved communities, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced new policy proposals that would require hospitals to adhere to more rigorous maternal care standards or risk losing their ability to participate in Medicare.
Letters to the editor
‘Financial impact’ of abortion amendment is bogus
By Debra Lupton Winter Park, Orlando Sentinel
Excerpt: Abortion law is about the basic right of bodily autonomy that women should have over their own bodies. I would expect there to be litigation costs solely because DeSantis opposed it, regardless of the will of the people.
In Support of Amendment 4
By Lynn A. Hagedorn, MD, Cape Coral Breeze
I was a practicing OB/GYN physician for 28 years. Several of my patients were memorable for many reasons…Your 6-week abortion ban took effect May 1, 2024. Thanks to you, some women have already come close to dying because physicians are fearful of going to jail if they treat a woman miscarrying. And thanks to the legislators who supported your 6-week ban.
I support Amendment 4
By Rita Fox, Lecanto, Citrus County Chronicle
Citrus County government meetings have been dominated by discussions of Amendment 4, in both the Crystal River City Council and BOCC meeting this week. The same individuals repeatedly attend these meetings, spreading lies and propaganda to push their agenda…I will proudly vote YES on Nov. 5 to support women’s rights and their ability to make decisions about their own bodies.
Let the voters decide
By Janet Callear, Naples, Fort Myers News-Press
If pro-choice were not such a critical issue, I would be more amused at the great lengths the DeSantis government is going through to defeat Amendment 4. The most recent “fiscal impact statement” to be crafted for the November ballot is patently absurd.