Abortion

March 19, 2009, The Miami Herald

A measure that would require women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound exam and have the option to view the scan was revived Wednesday, after the state Senate rejected a similar proposal last year in a dramatic 20-20 tie vote.

Following more than an hour of debate, the House Health Care Regulation Policy Committee cast a party-line vote in favor of the bill, with Republican supporters saying the ultrasound provision helps women make informed medical decisions and helps doctors prevent complications.

Click here to thank Governor Crist for his decision to appoint Judge James Perry.

March 12, 2009, St. Petersburg Times

February 27, 2009, Palm Beach Post

Publicly financed family planning services prevent nearly 2 million unintended pregnancies and more than 800,000 abortions each year, according to a new Guttmacher Institute report. And for every $1 spent on those services, taxpayers save $4 - $24 in Florida - that would have been spent on those unintended births.

These survey results should be enough finally to prompt Congress and the Legislature to pass bills aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancies, legislation that has sat in Washington and Tallahassee because many abortion-rights opponents also oppose birth control. But since the best way to prevent an abortion is to prevent an unplanned pregnancy, prevention should be the middle ground where abortion-rights advocates and opponents meet.

February 26, 2009, Orlando Weekly

For a minute it seemed like something had finally given. State budget cuts of $1.2 billion engendered spirited debate among legislators during January’s special session as to what could be cut from the Department of Health’s budget. After a recent history of the Republican majority trying to insert anti-abortion clauses into the most obscure of bills, there it was: the rare taste of victory for pro-choice Democrats.

February 11, 2009, St. Petersburg Times

It was an expected move by the new president but that didn't make it any less momentous for women's reproductive health. President Obama repealed the "global gag rule" by executive order during his first days in office, freeing American international family planning money from stifling rules first adopted in the Reagan era. The move was easily eclipsed by the pressing economic crisis, but it was an early signal that sensible, science-based policy is back in vogue in Washington.