Gabrielle Russon
Wait times at abortion clinics in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Washington, D.C., rose by about 30% since Florida’s six-week abortion went into effect May 1, according to a new Washington Post story.
While the wait times are longer, the clinics have not been slammed to the brink of closing, the report also found.
“Many said fewer Florida women appeared to be leaving the state for abortion care than was widely expected — a finding they largely attributed to increasing availability of telemedicine and abortion pills, in addition to long driving distances that may leave some women feeling they have no choice but to carry their unwanted pregnancy,” the Post reported.
The WaPo story looked at data from a Middlebury College economics professor who analyzed the wait times from 130 clinics in six states and Washington, D.C. — the parts of the country closest to Florida that still had legal abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy.
The Post said the college’s study was the first of its kind looking at the before and after effects of Florida’s new abortion ban.
Abortion rights advocates have said the nearest place for a Floridian to get an abortion after six weeks is Charlotte, North Carolina.
“North Carolina experienced the sharpest increases, with wait times rising in half of the state’s 16 clinics,” according to the Post.
The wait for North Carolina abortion clinics jumped from 5.5 weekdays to eight weekdays, the story said.
In Virginia, the median wait time for the next available abortion appointment was one weekday in April. After Florida’s six-week ban took effect, the median wait time was 1.5 weekdays, according to the data collected from the Vermont school.
Floridians will decide whether to limit government interference on abortion on Amendment 4 in the November election. An early poll shows it could be a tight race in terms of whether Amendment 4 will reach the 60% threshold needed to pass. The abortion debate is drawing faith-based groups on both sides of the issue.
4 comments
Dont Say FLA
May 28, 2024 at 1:33 pm
6 week bans should be doubled to 12 weeks for anybody coming from another state with a 6 week ban due to having travel forced upon them by their government in order to obtain their medical procedure.
That’d make things less unfair for young women with the misfortune of living in Florida or Georgia. They could cross a single state line for their medical procedure like most other women in mainland USA can.
I still dunno how unequal treatment under the law is legal according to Trump’s SCOTUS, but here we are anyway with women in Florida and Georgia being treated to Trump’s favorite, way, “so unfairly”
Cheesy Floridian
June 3, 2024 at 9:50 am
How about there not be a ban at all and we go back to how it was with Roe v. Wade? Which we can if we all vote yes on the amendment in Nov. Choice = Freedom
🌞
May 30, 2024 at 1:01 pm
Sad, because Florida will not expand Medicaid either..I guess they all want you to leave this economy
Cheesy Floridian
June 3, 2024 at 9:51 am
If we want freedom in the State of Florida, we need to pass the amendment in Nov.
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