Abortion In Florida

Abortion in Florida is legal. 56% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. An abortion ban with therapeutic exception was in place by 1900.  Such laws were in place after the American Medical Association sought to criminalize abortion in 1857.  By 2007, the state had a customary informed consent provision for abortions. By 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions. Attempts to ban abortion took place in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.   Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Florida Legislature in 2019.

The total number of abortion clinics had been declining for years, with 140 in 1982, 133 in 1992 and 71 in 2014.   There were 88,563 legal abortions in 2000, 88,247 in 2003, 72,107 in 2014. At least one protest as part of #StopTheBans took place in the state in May 2019. There has been a lot of anti-abortion violence in the state.  This included two arson attacks in 1982, a bombing in December 1984, property damage to a clinic in May 1986, butyric acid attacks took place between May and July 1998, a probable arson attack in West Palm Beach, a firebombing at the American Family Planning Clinic in Pensacola in January 2012. People have been killed as a result of anti-abortion rights violence in Florida. Dr. David Gunn of Pensacola, Florida was fatally shot during a protest in May 1993. On July 29, 1994, Dr. John Britton and James Barrett, a clinic escort, were both shot to death outside another facility, the Ladies Center, in Pensacola.

Terminology

The abortion debate most commonly relates to the "induced abortion" of an embryo or fetus at some point in a pregnancy, which is also how the term is used in a legal sense. Some also use the term "elective abortion", which is used in relation to a claim to an unrestricted right of a woman to an abortion, whether or not she chooses to have one. The term elective abortion or voluntary abortion describes the interruption of pregnancy before viability at the request of the woman, but not for medical reasons.

Anti-abortion advocates tend to use terms such as "unborn baby", "unborn child", or "pre-born child", and see the medical terms "embryo", "zygote", and "fetus" as dehumanizing. Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of terms labeled as political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light. "Pro-choice" implies that the alternative viewpoint is "anti-choice", while "pro-life" implies the alternative viewpoint is "pro-death" or "anti-life". The Associated Press encourages journalists to use the terms "abortion rights" and "anti-abortion".

Context

Free birth control correlates to teenage girls having fewer pregnancies and fewer abortions. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study found such a link.  At the same time, a 2011 study by Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health also found that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal death, higher rates of uninsured pregnant women, higher rates of infant and child deaths, higher rates of teen drug and alcohol abuse, and lower rates of cancer screening. The study singled out Oklahoma, Mississippi and Kansas as being the most restrictive states that year, followed by Arkansas and Indiana for second in terms of abortion restrictions, and Florida, Arizona and Alabama in third for most restrictive state abortion requirements.

According to a 2017 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Ibis Reproductive Health, states that tried to pass additional constraints on a women's ability to access legal abortions had fewer policies supporting women's health, maternal health and children's health.  These states also tended to resist expanding Medicaid, family leave, medical leave, and sex education in public schools. According to Megan Donovan, a senior policy manager at the Guttmacher Institute, states that have legislation seeking to protect a woman's right to access abortion services have the lowest rates of infant mortality in the United States.

Poor women in the United States had problems paying for menstrual pads and tampons in 2018 and 2019. Almost two-thirds of American women could not pay for them. These were not available through the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC). Lack of menstrual supplies has an economic impact on poor women.  A study in St. Louis found that 36% had to miss days of work because they lacked adequate menstrual hygiene supplies during their period.  This was on top of the fact that many had other menstrual issues including bleeding, cramps and other menstrual induced health issues. Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, and Pennsylvania all had exemptions for essential hygiene products like tampons and menstrual pads as of November 2018.

History

One of the biggest groups of women who oppose legalized abortion in the United States are southern white evangelical Christians.  These women voted overwhelmingly for Trump, with 80% of these voters supporting him at the ballot box in 2016. In November 2018, during US House exit polling, 75% of southern white evangelical Christian women indicated they supported Trump and only 20% said they voted for Democratic candidates.

Legislative history

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions. In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.

The state was one of ten states in 2007 to have a customary informed consent provision for abortions. As part of the statutes around abortion clinic regulations int Arizona and Florida, there is a requirement that abortion providers show women ultrasounds of their fetus before they are allowed to have an abortion. In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions.

In 2011, the state was one of six where the legislature introduced a bill that would have banned abortion in almost all cases.  It did not pass. This was repeated the next year, where Florida was one of three states trying and failing to ban abortion. Again, in 2013, Florida along with five other states, tried to enact abortion bans but failed. 2014 was a repeat, where it was one of three states. Members of the Florida legislature tried to ban abortion again in 2015, where the state was one of five. 2016 was another repeat year, where Florida was one of four states trying to unsuccessfully ban abortion.

Florida, Nevada, and New York had laws prohibiting abortions after 24-weeks. This law was still in place by mid-May 2019. As of May 14, 2019, abortions could not take place after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.

Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Florida Legislature in 2019. Rep. Mike Hill filed a fetal heartbeat bill (HB 235) on January 10, 2019 in the Florida House of Representatives. A companion bill (SB 792), was filed in the Florida Senate on February 6, 2019 by Sen. Dennis Baxley. The bills, which are identical, make it third-degree felony for a doctor who performs an abortion on a woman after a fetal heartbeat is detected, unless the "woman has been diagnosed with a condition that would create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function if the woman delayed terminating her pregnancy." Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged to sign legislation that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected. The 2019 Regular Legislative Session of the Florida legislature convened on March 5, 2019. Both 2019 bills were defeated; (HB 235) on May 3, 2019 died in Health Quality Committee, and (SB 792) on May 3, 2019 died in Health Policy.

Judicial history

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Florida by year

The first abortion clinic in Florida was opened by Byllye Avery in Gainesville.  The clinic had blue shag carpets, which for many women at that time gave them comfort as it signaled the abortion would not be a bloody affair, requiring tiled easy to clean floors. Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by seven, going from 140 in 1982 to 133 in 1992. In 2014, there were 71 abortion clinics in the state. In 2014, 70% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 20% of women in the state aged 15 – 44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic. In 2017, there were 22 Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 4,404,228 women aged 15 – 49 of which 13 offered abortion services.

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, the state had an illegal abortion mortality rate per million women aged 15 – 44 of between 0.1 and 0.9. In 1990, 1,389,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. The highest number of legal induced abortions by state in 2000 occurred in  New York City with 94,466, while Florida was second with 88,563, and Texas was third with 76,121. In 2001, New York City had the highest number of induced abortions with 91,792, while Florida was second with 85,589, and Texas  was third with 77,409. In 2001, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin did not provide any residence related data regarding abortions performed in the state to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2003, the state of New York had the highest number of legal induced abortions with 90,820. Florida was second with 88,247, while Texas was third with 79,166. In 2014, 56% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Abortion related prosecutions

In February 2009, Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique had his license revoked by Florida Medical Board.  The Florida Attorney also had an ongoing criminal investigation into a 2006 incident where it was alleged that a teenage girl gave birth during an abortion procedure where staff at a clinic run by Renelique disposed of the living being in a garbage bag in an attempt to cover up events.

Abortion rights views activities

Protests

#StopTheBans was created in response to 6 states passing legislation in early 2019 that would almost completely outlaw abortion.  Women wanted to protest this activity as other state legislatures started to consider similar bans as part of a move to try to overturn Roe v. Wade.  At least one protest as part of #StopTheBans took place in the state.

Anti-abortion views and activities

Activities

In the United States, some states issue specialty license plates that have an anti-abortion theme. Choose Life, an advocacy group founded in 1997, was successful in securing an anti-abortion automobile tag in Florida. Subsequently, the organization has been actively helping groups in other states pursue "Choose Life" license plates.

Violence

1982 saw a surge in attacks on abortion clinics in the United States with at least 4 arson attacks and 1 bombing.  One attack occurred in Illinois and one in Virginia, and two occurred Florida.  These 5 attacks caused over US$1.1 million in damage. On December 25, 1984, an abortion clinic and two physicians' offices in Pensacola, Florida, were bombed in the early morning of Christmas Day by a quartet of young people, Matt Goldsby, Jimmy Simmons, Kathy Simmons and Kaye Wigginn, who later called the bombings "a gift to Jesus on his birthday." The bombers were caught, convicted and eventually served time in prison for the bombing.

On March 26, 1986, six anti-abortion activists, including John Burt and Joan Andrews, were arrested after invading an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, causing property damage and injuring two women (a clinic manager and a member of the local NOW chapter). Burt was convicted of attempted burglary of an occupied building, assault, battery, and resisting arrest without violence, and was sentenced to 141 days already served in jail and four years of probation; his 18-Sarah Burt, year-old daughter, who also took part in the invasion, was sentenced to 15 days in jail (with credit for two days already served) and three years of probation. Andrews refused to pledge not to carry out such actions in the future and was convicted of burglary, criminal mischief and resisting arrest without violence. She was sentenced to five years in prison, which she spent largely in self-imposed isolation, refusing a mattress and all medical care.

Between 1993 and 2015, 11 people were killed at American abortion clinics. On March 10, 1993, Dr. David Gunn of Pensacola, Florida was fatally shot during a protest. He had been the subject of wanted-style posters distributed by Operation Rescue in the summer of 1992. Michael F. Griffin was found guilty of Gunn's murder and was sentenced to life in prison. He was the first doctor in the United States to be fatally killed by anti-abortion activists. On July 29, 1994, Dr. John Britton and James Barrett, a clinic escort, were both shot to death outside another facility, the Ladies Center, in Pensacola. Rev. Paul Jennings Hill was charged with the killings. Hill received a death sentence and was executed on September 3, 2003. The clinic in Pensacola had been bombed before in 1984 and was also bombed subsequently in 2012. June Barrett was also injured in the shooting. Paul Jennings Hill said of his conviction, ”I believe in the short and long term, more and more people will act on the principles for which I stand. [...] I’m willing and I feel very honored that they are most likely going to kill me for what I did.”

1998 saw 6 arson attacks, 4 bombings, 1 murder and 19 acid attacks take place at abortion clinics in the United States.  The butyric acid attacks took place between May and July in Florida, Louisiana and Texas. An attack took place at an abortion clinic in Miami, Florida on May 16, 1998. A few days later, on May 21, 1998, three people were injured when acid was poured at the entrances of five abortion clinics in Miami, Florida. On July 4, 2005, a clinic in West Palm Beach, Florida, was the target of an probable arson.

On January 1, 2012, Bobby Joe Rogers, 41, firebombed the American Family Planning Clinic in Pensacola, Florida, with a Molotov cocktail; the fire gutted the building. Rogers told investigators that he was motivated to commit the crime by his opposition to abortion, and that what more directly prompted the act was seeing a patient enter the clinic during one of the frequent anti-abortion protests there. The clinic had previously been bombed at Christmas in 1984 and was the site of the murder of Dr. John Britton and James Barrett in 1994. The Army of God published a "Defensive Action Statement" signed by more than two dozen supporters of Hill, saying that "whatever force is legitimate to defend the life of a born child is legitimate to defend the life of an unborn child... if in fact Paul Hill did kill or wound abortionist John Britton and clinic assistants James Barrett and Mrs. Barrett, his actions are morally justified if they were necessary for the purpose of defending innocent human life". The organization embraces its description as terrorist.

Footnotes