Gabrielle Russon
Under Florida’s new six-week abortion ban, women needing abortions are forced to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina — the closest city to the Sunshine State’s borders that offers the medical procedure.
One Florida doctor warned the waitlist is too long in North Carolina, so she sends her patients as far away as Pittsburgh, Chicago, and New York.
Medical providers and advocates warned about the consequences from the state’s abortion ban that went into effect this month and vowed to fight back in front of a friendly pro-abortion rights crowd Wednesday during the League of Women Voters of Orange County’s Hot Topics luncheon in Winter Park.
Floridians will decide in November where to limit government intervention on Amendment 4.
An early poll last month showed 42% percent support abortion rights while a large number — 32% — were undecided. It’s a challenge for Amendment 4 to gain the 60% threshold to pass.
The grassroots effort — with the League of Women Voters playing a major role — collected more than a million signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The state Supreme court voted 4-3 to allow Amendment 4 onto the ballot.
Advocates said the majority Floridians must travel out of state to get the medical procedures since many women don’t realize they are pregnant until past six weeks. For some women, the burden is too great to travel so they are denied access to healthcare, they said.
Dr. Kathryn Berryman typically sees her patients when they are around 18 weeks pregnant. Sometimes, she sees something devastatingly wrong in the anatomy ultrasound, like a genetic defect. The doctor and the expecting mother begin an intimate, heartbreaking conversation about what to do next.
“Politicians don’t belong in the room with us,” the Orlando doctor told the crowd Wednesday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he is not planning for a Special Session which could give Republicans the opportunity to put an abortion counterproposal on the November ballot.
Advocates said Wednesday they were prepared to fight against misinformation and confusion from Republicans.
“We’re going to have to fight hard against disinformation,” said Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida’s senior director of public affairs Kait Thomson. “We know loud and clear. We want to limit government interference in our health care decisions. And they can’t take that away from us.”
10 comments
rbruce
May 8, 2024 at 2:31 pm
Will give the babies a few more hours of life.
Dont Say FLA
May 8, 2024 at 2:36 pm
The SCOTUS left it to the states, but the effect of that decision becomes exponentially larger on a woman the further she lives inside MagaLand. Leaving this decision to the state is unequal, unfair and unjust. Some women can drive across one state line. Other women will have a 1000+ mile drive. This is highly unjust under the US Consitution’s rights to Interstate commerce
OTOH abortion cruises will be docking in MAGA states soon. The Mississippi River is navigable WAY up in the middle of MAGAland. Go for a nice cruise in the Gulf of Mexico’s international waters and get yo’self an abortion along with 8000 other young women.
Florida’s red tide will have a new meaning won’t it!
Impeach Biden
May 8, 2024 at 3:59 pm
I’m sure Planned Parenthood will fund many of these trips. Why don’t you donate? I do believe in a woman’s right to choose, and I also believe it should be decided at the state level.
Hung Wiil
May 8, 2024 at 5:52 pm
DSF . . . there he/she/they goes again. Invoking the Constitution. There is no right to interstate commerce. The commerce clause says that Congress can regulate interstate commerce. Traveling from one jurisdiction to another for goods and services is not interstate commerce. Article I, Section 8 . . .
You are out of your league, tool.
Dont Say FLA
May 16, 2024 at 10:37 am
Hung Lil, are you some sort of college indoctrinated elite? I am starting to wonder about your conservative creds.
Dont Say FLA
May 16, 2024 at 10:39 am
By the way Lil, “unjust,” which i said, isn’t the same thing as “illegal,” which you apparently thought
rick whitaker
May 8, 2024 at 9:44 pm
DSF , i’m hoping biden can get a seal put back on that gop , abortion pandora’s box .i have several grand daughters that are worried their freedom
PeterH
May 8, 2024 at 4:09 pm
A woman in crisis still must wait at airport for flight with potential delays. How will flight attendants deal with emergencies in flight? I’m certain DeSantis has a plan.
Impeach Biden
May 8, 2024 at 4:21 pm
So at what point do flight attendants and pilots stop flying by recommendation from their doctor when they are pregnant? Maybe people seeking terminations should live by those guidelines as well.
Hung Wiil
May 8, 2024 at 4:53 pm
PeterH
Uber.