By Mandy Miles, Alex Rickert and Jim McCarthy
Every decision comes with consequences, be they intended outcomes or unanticipated impacts.
Last month’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and make abortion a matter for individual states to legislate is a landmark decision with far-reaching implications.
The top court’s ruling prompted a spate of state legislation, as Republican lawmakers acted immediately to make abortions more difficult, or illegal, to obtain or perform. Democrats in some states took the opposite tack, formally legalizing the procedure in state law.
In Florida, the Republican-led state legislature passed House Bill 5, which doesn’t outlaw abortion but shortens the timeframe in which a woman can obtain an abortion from 24 to 15 weeks, The law makes no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, but does include a provision for cases in which the mother’s life is endangered or the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
Florida has the third-highest rate of abortion in the country, according to an article on TheHill.com.
But tighter restrictions are being contemplated. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to further restrict abortion access to protect unborn children in Florida. But the governor hasn’t detailed what those expansions would be.
“Florida will continue to defend its recently-enacted pro-life reforms against state court challenges, will work to expand pro-life protections and will stand for life by promoting adoption, foster care and child welfare,” DeSantis said last month.
State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, who represents the Florida Keys and voted in favor of the bill, told the Keys Weekly this week, “Life begins at conception. Period. I am pro-life and believe the sanctity of life should be protected at all times. However, I think our legislature found a good balance at 15 weeks where a woman can maintain her reproductive rights to a certain degree while also giving a developed fetus over three months a chance to live.”
On the other side of the aisle, Democratic House Minority Leader Evan Jenne said, “Politicians have no business getting between a patient and her doctor. This 15-week abortion ban takes away every woman’s right to make personal decisions that should only be made by themselves, with their family, their doctor and their faith. Not only is this unconstitutional and infringes on personal freedom, it also isn’t our place as elected officials to mandate choices women must make about their health.”
State Rep. Jim Mooney voted in favor of House Bill 5. He wasn’t available for comment before press time.
What about enforcement?
As with all laws and legislation, effective enforcement becomes a concern.
With notable staffing shortages in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and state attorney’s office, the practicality of enforcing the recently enacted changes becomes a question.
House Bill 5 specifically prohibits physicians from performing an abortion if they determine the gestational age of the fetus is more than 15 weeks, but the law does not appear to include any language about penalties for individuals who seek abortions after this time frame.
“I think they’ll probably take it pretty seriously,” said one Keys attorney who declined to be named. “But that tone would have to be set by the police and the State Attorney’s Office. … Do I think they will go after doctors? I think they probably will, and I would not be surprised. Do I think they’re going to prosecute women? I don’t know if the law is allowing them to do that.”
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward, however, told the Keys Weekly, “The state legislature and the governor are responsible for the laws in the State of Florida. And they’ve passed them. I don’t see where this has any impact on my office.”
Ward was hesitant to offer further comment, adding that in light of ongoing legal battles surrounding the recent legislation at the state level, questions would be better directed to Buddy Jacobs, an attorney representing the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association in Tallahassee. Jacobs was not available for comment before press time.
Abortion access in the Florida Keys
For the past seven or eight years, there has been no abortion provider in the Florida Keys, said Cali Roberts, executive director of WomanKind women’s health center in Key West.
“It has long been the case that we’ve sent women to Planned Parenthood in Miami, or to A Place for Women in Miami,” Roberts said.
“The burden for women in the Keys is: Do you have transportation to the mainland? Do you have child care for your other children? Can you get off work? And sometimes there’s a 24-hour waiting period. Can you spend the night up there or go back the next day?” Roberts said when asked about local impacts. “Abortion is never a flippant decision and to make laws as if it is and to ban a woman from having control over her body is unconscionable.”
According to the Planned Parenthood website, Florida law requires a person to have two appointments at least 24 hours apart to obtain an abortion, making it more cumbersome and expensive for women in the Keys.
Planned Parenthood does not offer medical abortions beyond 11 weeks. Most abortions today are “medical abortions,” which is a two-pill combination that ends the pregnancy and prompts a heavy period, Roberts said.
Planned Parenthood offered surgical abortion up until 18 weeks prior to passage of the new law in Florida, according to its website.
“And I’d also like to point out that nowhere has it ever been mentioned that there is a paternal responsibility in all of this,” Roberts said. “If he is not responsible from the first pregnancy test she has to take and the first saltine cracker she has to eat for morning sickness, then this is not about the sanctity of life, but about controlling women. There’s never been an abortion when a man was not involved.
“Is there any other law, anywhere, that affects men and women differently?” she said, adding. “In the Keys, birth control is more tantamount than ever before, and WomanKind has established a funding source for birth control, especially for long-term, such as IUDs, and we can reduce the price by 25%.”
