Florida Women Brace For Impact Of A 15-Week Abortion Limit

Miami FL

03 March, 2022

5:45 PM

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By Bianca Marcof Miami Times Staff Writer (Tom Urban/The News Service of Florida) (PlannedParenthood.org), the Miami Times Mar 1, 2022 A ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, including in cases of incest or rape, stands just one vote away from Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk. All eyes are on the Florida Senate today, where the bill, HB 5, is expected to pass on a final floor vote after passing the Senate Appropriations Committee in a 13-6 vote last week. The state currently allows abortions until 24 weeks of pregnancy, but if signed into law, the limit would drop to 15. The only exclusions for the procedure will be if a mother's life is in danger or the fetus has proven, terminal abnormalities. The Republican governor has previously signaled his support for the GOP-backed bill, which would go into effect in July. "There's a lot of pro-life legislation. We're going to be welcoming it," DeSantis told reporters in January at the start of the legislative session. "I think if you look at what's been done in some of these other states – I mean, when you start talking about 15 weeks where you have really serious pain and heartbeats and all this stuff – having protections I think is something that makes a lot of sense." Gov. Ron DeSantis has been championing stricter anti-abortion legislation and has signaled an eagerness to sign the proposed 15-week limit. (Tom Urban/The News Service of Florida) Planned Parenthood Florida, an opponent of the bill, says that despite access to safe and legal abortion being popular amongst Floridians, it's lawmakers who are pushing a political agenda. A public opinion poll by the University of North Florida last month shows that most voters oppose the new restrictions. "This is a really dangerous, egregious abortion ban in Florida," said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. "One in four women have had an abortion in her lifetime, which if it's not you, it's somebody you know and love. And the stigmatizing of abortion is just cruel. A person making that decision doesn't need the state of Florida passing judgment on them." She pointed out some women don't even know they're pregnant before 15 weeks. "[Perhaps] they weren't thinking about getting pregnant. They could be a rape or incest survivor that is so traumatized that the last thing they're thinking about is being pregnant, and then finding the nerve to have an exam is really tough for them," Goodhue explained. Or, she added, it could be a minor under the age of 18 who does not have consent from a parent to get an abortion (due to a state law signed by DeSantis in 2020) and now has to go before a judge to get around that. "And by then," said Goodhue, "by the time they've taken off school, raised money; they may pass the 15 weeks." Even in a wanted pregnancy, most fetal anomalies aren't detected by then. Medical procedures that reveal that kind of information, like an amniocentesis, are performed later in pregnancy. Under the bill, if a fetal abnormality is discovered after 15 weeks, the pregnancy could not be terminated unless two physicians certify in writing that the baby would not survive shortly after birth. "There's a lot of really difficult diagnoses that you really can't find until the fetus is more developed, and the bill itself [has] a super narrow exception for the health of the pregnant person and the health of the fetus and it's within imminent death, but there's lot of very terminal difficult conditions that a lot of couples aren't prepared for, financially or emotionally, to deal with," Goodhue said. As the bill was progressing through the Legislature, Planned Parenthood tried to add amendments for exceptions on fetal anomalies, but they've been "denied left and right." Still, Goodhue says their fight braces on. They've had survivors of rape and incest, as well as doctors who have taken time off from seeing their patients, testify at Senate committee meetings. From staff to volunteers, the organization has shown up at the Tallahassee capitol to make its message heard, even if it meant having 25 of its members banned for a year and one organizer arrested. Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, leads activists outside the Florida Capitol building Feb. 16./Colin Hackley (PlannedParenthood.org) "We want to make sure that the senators in the Florida Legislature hear that the people do not want to see this egregious, dangerous abortion ban pass," she said. "We'll be holding a vigil during the Senate vote (Wednesday) and we'll be outside of the Capitol because the last time we were inside the Capitol, sergeants removed young activists from the (House) gallery." She was referencing a Feb. 17 chamber meeting where House Speaker Chris Sprowls ordered a group of demonstrators out of the building after they began to chant, "My body, my choice," as reported by the Florida Phoenix. After they were removed, Republican bill sponsor Erin Gall told the chamber, "The pro-choice movement, the pro-abortion movement, they do not own all women … The irony is never lost on me. The decision made in Roe, a majority decided in that case, that in order for women to be equal, we must be permitted to kill our children. Think of the tragedy in that. I don't need to kill my child to be equal to a man." Although this bill requires a signature from Florida's governor to become law, it would affect women well beyond its borders – and fall hardest on women of color, who are disproportionately more likely to have low incomes and lack access to health care. Ripple effects are bound to follow the measure, such as increased travel to other states for procedures and overcrowding at existing clinics. The state would join others, including West Virginia and Arizona, with similar restrictive measures. Currently, people in surrounding states seeking an abortion must travel hundreds of miles to end their pregnancies in Florida, due to stricter abortion laws in their home states (like Texas' six-week ban). Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a Mississippi abortion ban that conflicts with the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. An interactive map by Guttmacher Institute shows which states are likely to tighten abortion bans if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Mississippi laws. If passed, those seeking an abortion in Florida would have to drive to North Carolina to get one. "The demand is there," Goodhue said. "Planned Parenthood has 20 health centers in this state and 15 of which provide abortions, and our doctors [are] seeing patients already from other states, especially in our Tallahassee and Jacksonville health centers. In Miami, they're even seeing patients from all over Latin America who can't access care." With its diverse population and geographical location, Miami has travelers arrive at its abortion clinics from the Caribbean Islands and Latin America, either due to a lack of access to legal abortions in their countries or a lack of clinics even if the procedure is legal. But by the time women collect the funds and documentation to fly to Florida, they can easily pass the 15-week point of their pregnancies. "We're going to do everything we can for our patients, we're always going to be there for them and look at all the options," Goodhue said. "Let's see how this plays out. We're still fighting it. The governor still has to sign it." The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.