Florida right-wing governor Ron DeSantis and the conservatives in the state legislature have not yet blocked abortion in the state. According to Manuel Bojorquez’s piece at CBS News, women are flocking to Florida to have the procedure done.
Here is a taste:
Planned Parenthood facilities in Florida have taken in as many women seeking abortions as they could before the state’s 15-week ban on the procedure went into effect this month, according to Dr. Samantha Deans, the associate medical director of Planned Parenthood of Southeast and North Florida.
“We had to increase our staffing. We had to increase our appointments,” Deans told CBS News.Â
The law was briefly blocked by a judge, but reinstated when the state appealed, adding to the confusion. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he is confident the contested new law will survive legal challenges.Â
“Our patients equally have been confused and, you know, devastated and struggling and panicked,” Deans said, adding that they have had to turn women away. “Those are some of the hardest conversations that I have to have with patients.”
Still, Florida’s abortion law is less restrictive than those in neighboring states, meaning many women from out of state travel to Florida for the procedure.Â
Florida is on track to surpass last year’s total of out-of-state abortions, which was nearly 4,900,Â
according to Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. As of July 6, there have been 2,548 out-of-state women who have had an abortion.Â
Read the rest here.
I’m not sure it is accurate to say “conservatives in the [Florida] state legislature have not yet blocked abortion in the state.” The Florida legislature has supported a trigger law that restored a 15-week limit on abortions (remember the standard under Roe was 24 weeks). So the legislature has restricted abortion, but Florida now has a law that lines up more with many European countries. The 15-week ban is also pretty close to where many analysts think a majority of Americans are on the issue.
Since about 90 % of abortions are by 13 or 14 weeks. This works for most women. However, most life threatening complications (for fetus or mother) don’t show up until 20+ weeks. European countries have policies to handle these, does Florida?