New Abortion Ban Takes Effect in Florida
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Wednesday, Florida's six-week abortion ban goes into effect. The state previously had limited abortions after 15 weeks.
Key Details: Pro-lifers are celebrating the new legislation, which they see as a major victory in the country's battle over abortion. Pro-choice people say the more restrictive ban will strain an overstretched reproductive health system. The new law includes exceptions if a person can provide documentation for rape or incest. In April, the state's Supreme Court allowed the ban to proceed.
Key Quote: "This essentially creates an abortion desert in the south-east part of our country," said Michelle Quesada, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood in Florida. "This will be devastating."
For Context: The impact of the six-week abortion ban in Florida will sweep beyond the state, as abortion providers in Virginia and North Carolina are preparing for an increase in patients. Florida saw an increase in abortions after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
How the Media Covered it: Axios (Lean Left bias) noted that even though the six-week ban is taking effect, voters in November will decide whether or not to include abortion access until fetal viability - around 24-28 weeks of pregnancy - in Florida's constitution. The Washington Times (Lean Right bias) noted that House Democrats from Florida are calling the ban "draconian," and it noted that the Florida Supreme Court's rulings have given fresh hope to Florida Democrats for the November election.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Florida’s House Democrats make an appeal to the people as six-week abortion ban kicks in
House Democrats from Florida bashed the state’s six-week abortion ban as “draconian” as one of the strictest limits in the country went into effect Wednesday.
Reps. Frederica Wilson, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Lois Frankel, Kathy Casto, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Darren Soto, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz joined together to issue a statement bashing Florida’s new abortion law.
“Today and every day, the truth remains clear: People, not politicians, should be in control of their own reproductive health decisions,” the eight Democrats said. “Florida’s draconian six-week abortion ban is outrageous — a blow to...
From the Center
New Florida six-week abortion ban will be felt beyond the state
Florida's six-week abortion ban has come into force, closing the door - for now - on the last abortion access point in the US South.
Anti-abortion campaigners have celebrated the new legislation - which replaces an existing 15-week law - as the gold standard of abortion policy and a major victory in the country's battle over abortion access.
But pro-choice campaigners say the ban will push an overstretched system to the brink.
They worry the new law in Florida, which had been the last state in the region without a...
From the Left
Florida's 6-week abortion ban takes effect: Here's how residents, clinics are already feeling the impact
Inside a one-story clinic about 40 miles from the Georgia border, Kelly Flynn’s staff has provided abortions to women from across the Southeast since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
But on Tuesday, A Woman’s Choice clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, was seeing its last patients who fell outside of Florida’s strict new abortion law taking effect on Wednesday. The legislation prohibits most abortion after about six weeks – before many people know they’re pregnant.
Some arrived from Mississippi and Louisiana. One client was a college student who had learned...
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