In May of this year, a six-week abortion ban and a 24-hour waiting period came into effect in Florida, drastically restricting abortion access for people across the state and beyond. Today, Florida is one of the states with the most restrictive abortion laws; according to the Guttmacher Institute, among restrictions patients face, those who seek an abortion within the six-week permissible period, if they are even aware they are pregnant, are forced to make two appointments—one for in-person counseling and another at least 24 hours later for the abortion procedure.
This November, Florida will vote on Amendment 4, a ballot measure that could enshrine a right to abortion in the state’s Constitution, and repeal the state’s six-week ban. While the measure requires at least 2/3 of the vote (60%). Polls suggest mixed support: the measure currently polls at 69% according to a poll of likely Florida voters from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab, but a poll from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Mainstreet USA found support for Amendment 4 at only 56%.
On the campaign trail, Florida resident and presidential hopeful Donald Trump continues to evade questions specifically regarding Florida's Amendment 4. But elsewhere in the Trump-Kushner extended family, model and activist Karlie Kloss has stepped forward to advocate on behalf of Amendment 4, in a new op-ed in the Miami Herald.
“Last month, I sat beside a patient I’ll call Sarah at the Michael Benjamin abortion services clinic in Tamarac, Florida. Sarah was one of the lucky ones. She found out she was pregnant and made an appointment before the state’s new draconian deadline banning abortion after six weeks,” Kloss wrote.
Kloss continues, elaborating that many people don’t even realize they’re pregnant at six weeks, and that the 24-hour waiting period, ultrasound, and required reading material, none of which is medically necessary, only creates more hurdles and delays to already extremely restrictive abortion care access.
Highlighting the strained workforce of Florida abortion care providers, Kloss writes, “A small but mighty determined staff works around the clock to provide care to the patients they can—and they refuse to turn away those they legally cannot.” She notes that workers instead assist patients whose pregnancies are outside of the restricted six-weeks to find appointments and secure financial assistance to make the 11 hour-by-car journey from Fort Lauderdale to the nearest abortion clinics out of state in North Carolina, or fly directly to cities like Chicago or Washington D.C.
The impact has rocked the entire southeast region of the US. Prior to the six-week ban taking effect, Florida was the last state in the region to offer abortion care before 15 weeks. Reports from the Washington Post say that more than 80,000 women get an abortion in Florida in a typical year, about 1 in 12 abortions in the country, and according to advocates, patients now have to travel upwards of 1000 miles to access care.
