When Republican lawmakers in Florida passed a bill which would cut state funding from any organization that performs abortions, they were called upon prove that doing so would not infringe upon the “undue burden” clause in Roe v. Wade which would rule the law unconstitutional.
The bill, HB 1411 has not yet been signed into law, but if it is, it will drastically reduce the number of facilities for low-income women to receive healthcare across the state.
When the bill’s co-sponsor Colleen Burton was called upon to release a list of federally qualified health centers in which these women could receive birth control, pap smears, and pelvic exams, what she provided was absolutely ridiculous.
On the list are dozens of K-12 schools and several dental offices. At least one of these “centers” is an optometrist. Many are pediatric clinics. Five of the locations are mobile dental units – don’t go to them, they’ll come to you! It is clear that these do not apply at all to the very real needs of women, and that no low-income women would be able to waltz into a middle school to claim their state-funded healthcare. I encourage you to look over the list and see just how ridiculous this list truly is.
The truth of this abortion law is the universal truth of all others like it: it is unconstitutional, decidedly anti-choice, and would only impoverish more women.
Republicans in Florida are hoping to go the way of Texas’s restrictions which are currently being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court to determine if they are constitutional. If they are ruled to be so, Florida will most likely pass this similar legislation. If Texas law is struck down, Florida and so many states like it will be forced to take a closer look at the regulations they are forcing on Planned Parenthood and other women’s health facilities.
