Monica Kelly, a Tennessee mother, was devastated to learn that her baby had Patau syndrome, a genetic disorder with a high risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. At 13 weeks pregnant, her doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy due to serious health risks, but they could not perform the abortion because of Tennessee’s strict abortion laws. Kelly traveled to Florida at 15 weeks to obtain the procedure, becoming one of many women seeking abortions outside their home states due to restrictive laws. Over the past five years, over 25,000 women, primarily from states like Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, have traveled to Florida for abortion care.
However, a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling has cleared the way for a six-week abortion ban, leaving many Southern women with limited options for care. Nonprofit groups like the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund are bracing for an influx of requests as access to abortion in Florida shrinks, but with travel costs rising, many women may struggle to afford the procedure. Florida’s law is expected to further strain resources, with organizations predicting a significant increase in demand for help as women travel to other states such as New York or Illinois.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Florida, including Republican Rep. Mike Beltran, continue to push for even stricter abortion bans, including potentially prohibiting interstate travel for abortions. Advocates warn that such restrictions will have dire consequences, particularly for women facing complications like Kelly. As more women from the Southeast head to states like Illinois for care, abortion access in Florida and surrounding regions is rapidly becoming a critical issue, with many women forced to face difficult choices in the absence of timely, necessary medical care.
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