FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 17, 2010
CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler, Director of Communications, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida will join together with Planned Parenthood and local coalition partners at a rally and press conference on Tuesday, May 18 in Miami urging Governor Crist to veto HB 1143 which interferes with private health care decisions and restricts private health insurance from offering abortion coverage. Legislators passed HB 1143 restricting access to abortion in Florida despite never vetting the bill through a single legislative committee, nor allowing an opportunity for public comment.
Last week local coalitions organized a series of rallies and press conferences in West Palm Beach, Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Tallahassee including speakers from Planned Parenthood, elected officials and other community members who believe HB 1143 firmly wedges the government in between doctors and their patients, and will result in women losing health care coverage that they currently have today.
HB 1143 currently awaits the Governor’s decision.
“Apparently in Florida you don’t need a license to practice medicine. You just need to get yourself elected to the Florida Legislature, and then you too can insert yourself into the personal and often times painful decision-making process that belongs only in the hands of women and their physicians,” said Beth Wilson, ACLU of Florida Deputy Director. “The legislature is seriously overstepping and has enacted a law that intrudes into medical decisions, strips women of health coverage, and is the result of a bad process.”
PRESS CONFERENCE & PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
WHAT: Planned Parenthood press conference and rally with elected officials and community members urging Governor Crist to veto HB 1143
WHO: Event co-sponsors include: Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast, ACLU of Florida, National Council of Jewish Women Kendall Section, Miami Clinic Access Project, North Miami National Organization for Women and Miami Spanish Speaking National Organization for Women (list in formation)
WHEN: Tuesday, May 18 at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: United Way Building – 3250 Southwest Third Avenue – Miami
About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.
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