Tomorrow, Florida will instate a dangerous and extreme six-week abortion ban. Virginia is the only state in the Southeast with access to abortions.

This draconian law limits women’s freedom. It also puts hundreds of thousands of pregnant people at risk of losing their lives or suffering severe consequences in the case of pregnancy-related complications and emergencies. As it's been reported, women in states with extreme abortion bans are being denied emergency care because doctors are scared of retaliation, even if an abortion is the only way to save someone’s life. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Idaho v. United States, which will determine whether hospitals in states with abortion bans are required under a federal law to provide abortions in emergency situations. This case is a matter of life or death for women in the South.

Florida joins Georgia and South Carolina in banning abortions at six weeks. Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas have total abortion bans. North Carolina bans abortion at 12 weeks. Floridians seeking abortions, and those who previously traveled to Florida for abortions, will now likely be forced to travel to Virginia. Virginia currently allows abortion up to 26 weeks. 

“Florida’s ban will have disastrous consequences for women’s health across the South, with many forced to either carry their pregnancy to full-term or travel hundreds of miles to Virginia to save their health. Women should be able to access reproductive healthcare anywhere,” DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker said. “Make no mistake: the only reason Virginia is a safe haven for abortion access is because voters knew abortion was on the ballot and put Democrats in control of the legislature in 2023. They have protected reproductive rights. Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are responsible for the suffering and pain of women in the South, and they will make it significantly worse if they win in November.”

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