Letter to editor: 15-week Abortion Ban is Unfair, Unsafe
Sue Gilman & Barbara Lanning | Published on 2/21/2022
Everyone deserves the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and healthcare; it is a human right. The state of Florida should protect our freedoms, not place restrictions on them. Two bills currently being fast-tracked through the Florida Legislature, Senate Bill 146 and House Bill 5, would do just that (”Florida poised to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy,” Feb. 18).
If passed and signed into law, the 15-week abortion ban created by these bills will impose unconstitutional restrictions on safe, legal abortion.
The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade recognized the constitutional right of women to make their own medical decisions. The Florida Legislature should not be infringing on an established right, particularly one that impacts women’s health, livelihoods, families, and futures.
The women most harmed will be those with the least. Women with resources will be able to travel to other states to get the care they need. North Carolina will likely be the closest state in which abortion after 15 weeks would be legal.
Abortion after 15 weeks will not go away if this bill passes. Access to safe and legal abortion will. If the goal is to decrease the number of abortions, the safe way to do that is by ensuring our students receive medically accurate sex education. It is also important to make birth control easily accessible. Let’s give them the tools and information they need to make decisions, rather than having the government decide for us all.
Sue Gilman and Barbara Lanning