ORLANDO, Fla. — On May 1, Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will take effect. When it does, Florida will become one of the most restrictive states in the country for abortion.
Channel 9 spoke to women who have had abortions, both on and off camera, about what this ban will mean. For some, it was a personal choice. For others, they had to have an abortion because of medical complications.
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At the Center of Orlando for Women, pro-life protestors camp out nearly daily in earshot of women walking into the clinic while a pro-choice group shields the women with umbrellas.
“We don’t believe any situation justifies killing a child,” said James Adamson. He and other pro-lifers shouted, trying to convince women not to get an abortion, as they walked into the clinic.
This is same clinic Kate walked into when she was 16 and 8 weeks pregnant.
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“I knew at that time, I was not financially able, or mentally able to give birth and parent a child,” Kate told Channel 9.
She spoke of the mental stress she had leading up to the procedure.
“There was lots of mental stress, there was stress over how to get an appointment. I remember looking through the actual Yellow Pages to find a clinic to go to. And then the financial burden. Abortions are not cheap,” Kate said.
She fears for women who are in the same situation as she was, now that Florida’s 6-week abortion ban is set to take effect May 1. Many will have to travel to other states without strict abortion laws.
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“Whether it be from complications of a pregnancy that they cannot receive abortion care for, or whether it be from mental health complications of having to carry an unwanted pregnancy. People will die because of the six-week ban,” Kate said.
Most women don’t know they’re pregnant at six weeks.
The new law provides exceptions for rape, incest, and human trafficking if there’s a police report.
There are also exceptions for fatal fetal abnormality or the mother’s life is at risk-- but two physicians must sign off.
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Dr. Chelsea Daniels says the exceptions leave doctors and patients with very little guidance or protection.
“With fatal fetal abnormality, does that mean that it must be fatal in utero that the pregnancy survives for a minute outside the womb, for 10 minutes outside the womb, for four hours outside the womb?” Daniels told Channel 9. “It’s impossible to calculate and what ends up happening is that it just creates an atmosphere of fear mongering.”
There’s also questions over how this law will affect miscarriage care because it often uses the same procedure as some abortions-- D&C.
There are reports from Texas and Ohio that have similar laws that women have had delayed miscarriage care because of confusion over the law. Channel 9 spoke to women Tuesday who said without miscarriage care, they could have developed sepsis and died.
“Because I didn’t go septic, I was able to then go on and have another child. And I’m thrilled with that option. And it’s scary to think that someone is going to have to sit there and think that their future ability to have children or not have children will be a threat, their lives will be at threat,” Betty said.
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