By Marcos Restrepo

Crisis Pregnancy Centers, funded by the state of Florida, are distributing brochures that suggest abortion causes mental illness, including depression, addiction and suicide. In the best case, the information handed out is biased; in the worst case, sources say, it is wrong.

PRESS STATEMENT FROM STEPHANIE KUNKEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF FLORIDA, ON HISTORIC VETO OF HB 1143

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2010

CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler, ACLU, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
Stephanie Kunkel, Planned Parenthood, (850) 425-5097 or Stephanie.kunkel@fappa.org
Damien Filer, Progress Florida, (850) 212-1858 or damien@progressflorida.org

February 28, 2010, Florida Times-Union / St. Augustine Record

A Clay County legislator’s plan to outlaw abortion in Florida has gained quick traction with the abortion opponents' community but faces numerous obstacles, from skeptical House colleagues to the U.S. Supreme Court.

State Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights and a Baptist minister, filed a bill this month  that would make nearly all forms of abortion a first-degree felony for the provider, punishable by up to life in prison.

February 25, 2010, Gainesville Sun / Ocala Star Banner

Abortion providers, people who assist them, and operators of clinics where abortions occur could receive long prison sentences under a new bill that mandates a wide-ranging ban on the procedure.

The bill, offered recently by state Rep. Charles Van Zant, a Keystone Heights Republican whose district spans much of eastern Marion County, makes performing or assisting in an abortion a first-degree felony, which is punishable by up to life in prison.

January 27, 2010, Naples Daily News

Editor, Daily News:

The current national debate about health care and health insurance is being used as a weapon to assail and undercut women’s reproductive health care.

As the debate continues, it is essential that women’s access to the full range of reproductive health services not be compromised. Under present law, some insurance plans cover abortion services. Under the reforms being considered in Congress, the coverage of abortion services will be either severely restricted or nonexistent.

January 26, 2010, Washington Post

The pregnancy rate among teenage girls in the United States has jumped for the first time in more than a decade, raising alarm that the long campaign to reduce motherhood among adolescents is faltering, according to a report released Tuesday.

The pregnancy rate among 15-to-19-year-olds increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 -- the first jump since 1990, according to an analysis of the most recent data collected by the federal government and the nation's leading reproductive-health think tank.

Teen pregnancy has long been one of the most pressing social issues and has triggered intense political debate over sex education, particularly whether the federal government should fund programs that encourage abstinence until marriage or focus on birth control.

Manatee County officials reconsider abstinence-only approach to sex education

January 25, 2010, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Almost 500 babies were born to Manatee County teenagers in 2008, one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Florida.

Staff at the school district's day care look after almost 90 babies while their teenage moms take classes. Another 43 students are pregnant.

Teachers report that some students no longer feel there is any stigma attached to pregnancy among students.

January 23, 2010, Bradenton Herald

SARASOTA — The 37th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion brought activists on both sides of the issue to the streets Friday.