(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . On anniversary of Roe, FL Dems say abortion rights are at stake now and in November [1] ['Mitch Perry', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-22 Florida Democrats expressed optimism about a potential upcoming ballot initiative on abortion rights, as women convened Monday for the 51st anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion in the U.S. At the same time, they expressed concerns about current legislation in Florida that they say could penalize doctors for performing abortions. The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next month regarding the summary language of a proposed constitutional amendment to go on the ballot this November. A group called Floridians Protecting Freedom has already gathered enough signatures for the initiative, but the high court has to review the ballot language. “I feel confident that the Florida Supreme Court will do the right thing,” said Broward County Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky at a press conference in the Florida Senate building. “They have very limited authority on how they can approve the language and I feel confident that this language that has been so carefully crafted and has been passed in other states is neither vague nor multiple subject. That is all that they can look at.” That said, Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed briefs arguing against the ballot language, in part because of the use of the word “viability” as allegedly ambiguous. Polsky said: “We look forward to it passing and we are looking forward to absolutely winning it on the ballot because a majority of male politicians should not be telling women what to do with their bodies and the tragic results have been showing up all over this country. Women having to flee their own states and risk their own lives and risk their own future reproductive health because of mostly male politicians’ decisions about their body.” But while Florida Democrats are excited about the potential ballot imitative this fall, Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried and other Senate Democrats were caution about two abortion-related bills that have been filed in the 2024 session. One is HB 651, filed by Lee County Republican Jenna Persons-Mulicka, that would change the state’s civil liability law to add the parents of an unborn child due to the list of potential survivors associated with a wrongful death lawsuit. The measure passed its first committee hearing last Friday. Democrats contend that it could be used to arrest doctors who perform abortions, though the sponsors have denied that. “As a mom who needed to utilize IVF [in vitro fertilization] to have her children, or any Floridian out there who has to use reproductive technology to have their children, this would and could block their ability to become pregnant and start a family,” said Sen. Lauren Book, the Democratic Leader in the state Senate. “We know exactly what their intent is,” said Fried. “Their intent is to be able to skirt around the current laws and to go even further to their whole concept that abortion should be outlawed completely and creating this cause of action to extend it to go after doctors.” A bill that is explicitly about abortion is HB 1519, co-sponsored by Hillsborough County’s Mike Beltran and Miami-Dade County’s David Borrero that would effectively ban all abortions in Florida except in the case of a medical emergency. That bill seemed to be dead on arrival after both House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said on the second day of session that they weren’t supportive. Fried said she wasn’t so sure yet. “He’s coming home. We don’t know what’s on his agenda,” she said of the return of Gov. Ron DeSantis back to state government now that his presidential campaign has been suspended. “And with these bills looming out there, including an all-out abortion ban, that if Ron DeSantis believes will help him with whatever he does next, he’s going to push. And so what we’ve also seen is it’s not like [the GOP-led Legislature} stood up to him. And so every single time he’s wanted an agenda item, he wanted a policy, they gave it to him.” Also today in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] announced a series of new actions to protect and expand access to contraception. “People should have control over personal decisions about their own health, lives, and families. High-quality contraception improves health outcomes, advances economic stability, and promotes overall well-being,” HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra wrote in a letter addressed to group health plans and issuers. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/01/22/on-anniversary-of-roe-fl-dems-say-abortion-rights-are-at-stake-now-and-in-november/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/