Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, the Florida Senate voted to pass House Bill 5 (HB 5), which bans people from getting an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and criminalizes doctors who offer abortion care to patients after 15 weeks.
Kara Gross, ACLU of Florida’s legislative director and senior policy counsel, responded to today’s vote with the following:
“The passage of this abortion ban is absolutely disgraceful. With this bill, Floridians are deprived of the right to determine for themselves whether and when to have a child.
“This cruel bill will amount to forced pregnancy for anyone who cannot obtain the care they need within this arbitrary time limit, and there is no greater governmental intrusion. Forcing someone to continue their pregnancy against their will, and keeping Floridians from accessing critical and essential reproductive healthcare is unconscionable and inhumane. It’s a dangerous violation of a person’s bodily autonomy and privacy.
“Politicians passing these unpopular and unconstitutional bans on abortion is an irresponsible diversion from the real issues that Floridians need our legislature to address – unemployment, healthcare, affordable housing, and clean air and water.
“HB 5 rejects what the majority of Floridians’ desire -- the freedom to control their lives, their bodies, their healthcare, and their future. Every Floridian should be able to make their own personal, private health care decisions without politicians deciding for them. In a state that prides itself on purportedly being free, this is an unprecedented level of government overreach and intrusion.”
