Democratic Women’s Caucus Slams Florida Abortion Ban, Continues Push for WHPA
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Chair Lois Frankel (FL-22) issued the following statement on the Florida House and Senate passing a 6-week abortion ban—before most women are even aware they are pregnant. Doctors who provide abortion care for patients after the six-week mark could face up to five years in prison.
The Florida abortion ban will have huge impacts on abortion access in the South. Already, abortion is banned or significantly restricted in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia. Unable to get care in Florida, patients may be forced to get care in South Carolina or North Carolina—hundreds of miles away and where MAGA Republicans have already begun pushing to pass abortion bans as well.
“Florida’s abortion ban is cruel, it’s backwards, and it won’t just be devastating for the women of Florida—its impact will be felt across the Southeast. Women should have the freedom to make decisions about when or whether to start or grow a family, without political interference. That means having access to contraception and legal abortion,” said DWC Chair Frankel.
“Every single person, no matter their zip code, should have the right to control their own bodies and their future, and that’s what the Women’s Health Protection Act delivers. The Democratic Women’s Caucus will keep fighting to get it done—because women in Florida, the Southeast, and the entire country are depending on us.”
The Women’s Health Protection Act creates a federal statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care and a corresponding right for their patients to receive that care—free from bans and medically unreasonable restrictions. The legislation would also protect the ability to travel out of state for abortion care. Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), along with 47 other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
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