Florida's six-week ban goes into effect
New law prevents abortion-seekers from getting care beyond six weeks
Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect this week, with criticism coming from all quarters of the pro-choice community there and across the country.
Dr. Chelsea Daniels spoke on behalf of the Yes on 4 campaign, which is the effort to get the ballot initiative passed this Fall that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
“Today, we awoke to a new world,” Daniels said. “A world where the State, and not individuals, is in control of our bodies, our lives and our futures. A world where treatable complications in pregnancies will become life-threatening, not because we don’t know how to treat them, but because we won’t be allowed.
“The government should not interfere in personal medical decisions between Floridians and their doctors. And it should go without saying that doctors should not have to risk criminal prosecution to treat the patient in front of them.”
Previously, the state had passed and enacted a 15-week ban on abortions. A report from NPR indicated that abortion providers are scheduling patients earlier to make sure that they can get the care they need. A mandatory 24-hour waiting period to get an abortion makes it additionally difficult and increases the likelihood that a patient would be too far along to help.
Now, all states in the Deep South have abortion bans of some sort in place. The last remaining state to have full access is Virginia.
Last month, Florida’s Supreme Court ruled that the proposed constitutional amendment that would protect abortion rights could go before voters. The ballot initiative, known as Amendment 4, states that no law should prohibit or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the mother’s health. The amendment specifically lays out that it does not deal with parental notification.
“The fact is, we can never know what someone else is going through – we’re not in their shoes,” Daniels said. “That’s why we must vote YES: to keep the government out of our exam rooms and make sure Florida families and their doctors have the freedom to make the decisions that are right for them.”