SARASOTA – Two Suncoast organizations are speaking out following a proposed 15-week abortion ban bill passing through the Florida House subcommittee.
House Bill 5, a Republican-proposed 15-week abortion ban is causing major uproar, in the same week many celebrated the 49TH anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe V. Wade decision.
“We find HB 5 to be just a terrible law that really interferes with people’s personal, private decision making about their medical situation,” said President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest and Central Florida, Stephanie Fraim.
The bills main goal is to shorten time frame to get an abortion in Florida from 24 weeks to 15.
and unlike, abortion protections in other states…
“There are little to none exceptions to rape, incest, human trafficking, abuse,” said Co-Founder of Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida, Kate Danehy-Samitz.
“If legislators were truly concerned about reducing abortion rates in the state of Florida, they would be working actively to establish and secure very simple resources that have been proven to slash abortion rates in communities that have access to them,” said Danehy-Samitz.
Resources as simple as, birth control
“Where is the access to helping us have good comprehensive sex education so people know how to make these decisions, they know how to use birth control, they have access to birth control,” said Fraim.
The groups say legislators should focus on what they were elected to do
“It’s deeply distressing that the Florida legislature would have their attention on an abortion ban, when they should be thinking about the issues we really need to be paying attention to and that’s why we sent them to Tallahassee,” said Fraim.
The battle in Florida’s legislature comes as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments about similar legislation from Mississippi, and previous bills filed to restrict abortions in Texas.