The U.S. League, the Florida League, and the Broward League all include within their programs support of the Constitutional right of an individual woman to make reproductive choices in private with availability and access to services needed. For some women, that choice may be an abortion.
Roe v. Wade was decided in January 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Therefore, for most of the women reading this message, we reached reproductive age knowing we had the right of privacy to make the decision to have a safe abortion. In Roe v. Wade, the Court established that states could not regulate abortions during the first trimester because it represented a private medical decision between a woman and her doctor. States could, however, impose regulations in the second and third trimesters.
We have always known Roe v. Wade was a controversial decision, and the courts and legislators have whittled away at protections it provided. However, even the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1992 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey admitted, “The ability of women to participate equally in the economic and social life of the Nation has been facilitated by their ability to control their reproductive lives.” In that decision, the Court reaffirmed Roe v. Wade, albeit with a few more restrictions; the decision to have an abortion was still a private one.
Going Back in Time in Texas
The abortion law recently passed in Texas eliminates a woman’s right to privacy. To summarize, the new law states a woman cannot have an abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy, even if the pregnancy is due to rape or incest, unless the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life. As many health care professionals have stated, most women don’t even know they are pregnant at 6 weeks, especially women who were not planning a pregnancy. Why 6 weeks? That is usually the time when electrical activity associated with heart development, not a heartbeat, can be detected. To be very clear, the heart has not completely formed by 6 weeks.
In an interesting and perverse twist, the law prevents state officials from enforcing the law; instead the state will rely on citizens to file civil law suits on anyone who obtains an abortion or "aids and abets" someone obtaining an abortion, as well as the healthcare professional providing the abortion. Whatever happened to a private decision between a woman and her doctor? The law provides an incentive for citizens to report by offering at least $10,000 in "statutory damages" for each abortion performed, payable by the abortion provider and/or anyone who aided or abetted.
For the women of Texas, the clock is being turned back almost 50 years! This law actually takes Texan women back to before Roe v. Wade, which also originated out of Texas. At least prior to Roe v. Wade, if you became pregnant due to rape or incest in Texas, you were allowed to obtain an abortion. The new Texas law does not even allow for those situations! Just like before Roe v. Wade, Texas women who have the money will still be able to obtain an abortion by going out of state. For others, it can only be described as a nightmare. For more information about past abortion decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, visit https://projects.oyez.org/body-politic.
What about Florida?
Governor DeSantis has stated that he might support a law similar to the one in Texas. Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls has stated that he plans to push for more anti-abortion legislation, as has Senate President Wilton Simpson. It should also be noted that Sen. Lauren Book of Plantation has been removed as head of the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee, and Sen. Gary Farmer of Lighthouse Point has been removed from the Senate Health Policy Committee, committees where abortion bills are most likely to be heard.
What Can You Do?
First, we must hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. We can also hold judges accountable in Florida. Five of the seven Supreme Court Justices will be seeking another six-year term in 2022, giving voters the power to remove or retain each member of the court. Learn about Florida's current justices as well as our governor, his cabinet members, and our state legislators before you vote in 2022. Your Vote Is Your Voice! Use It!
Second, LWV Broward has a virtual event focused on abortion rights on October 13 at 7:00 PM. Our speaker will be Ginger Mundy, co-chair of LWV Florida Reproductive Health Committee. Don't wait, register now.
Third, join us in person at the Florida March for Reproductive Justice on October 2 at 3:00 PM at Huzienga Plaza. Information below.