A child who survived incest was reportedly denied an abortion Florida under a state law that prohibits abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy, a provision that makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
Opening by the state Planned Parenthood chapter one informs c BuzzFeed Newsworth the wave against abortion laws that radically redrew the map of abortion care in the US after the US repealed the constitutional right to abortion care Supreme Court.
At least 13 states have effectively banned the procedure.
According to Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida, the survivor had to travel to another state to receive care.
Laura Goodhue, vice president of public policy, did not disclose the patient’s age or where they were traveling, but said the patient was a high school student who had an abortion “at least two or three states away.” BuzzFeed News.
Florida borders Alabama, which bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy, and Georgia, which bans abortion at about six weeks.
Alabama law does not make exceptions for pregnancy from rape or incest, and Georgia law allows exceptions only if there is an accompanying police report.
Providers in Florida have seen an influx of young people and survivors of sexual and domestic violence seeking abortion care in the state, according to Alexandra Mandado, Planned Parenthood’s regional president, who has looked at the effects of the state’s anti-abortion law. during a virtual briefing October 12.
“We see this restriction having serious and dire consequences for some families in the most desperate situations,” added Florida OB/GYN Dr. Shelley Tian. “It’s terrible not to be able to provide this service because of limitations for a patient in such a horrible and brutal situation.”
State judge in Florida briefly blocked state restrictions that were signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and challenged in state courts before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey June 24.
“People who need abortions after 15 weeks are often in the most dire situations – they’re more likely to live in poverty, trying to escape violence or abuse, and they’re more likely to face multiple barriers to care,” Dr Tian said. – said during the briefing.
Ms Mandada said providers also cared for patients “who didn’t know they were 15 weeks pregnant”, including one pregnant woman who was diagnosed with symptoms such as fatigue and nausea, but was dismissed by doctors for long-term effects Covid-19.
The patient took a pregnancy test and found out that she had unexpectedly become pregnant. After arriving at the Planned Parenthood clinic, the patient was told that “she was over the abortion limit in our state,” according to Ms. Mandado.
The incest survivor was accompanied by family members and travel assistance provided by Planned Parenthood to receive care in another state.
“The cruelty of forcing a very young person, who has already been through a horrific incident of abuse, to give birth is just taking away their rights to bodily autonomy and it’s really turning a blind eye to what’s going on in our society,” Ms Goodhue said. BuzzFeed News.
The right represents an abortion a 10-year-old rape survivor in Ohio who was forced to travel to Indiana to get help in that state after Ohio’s abortion ban was passed.
Later, Indiana legislators passed the law banning most abortions in that state, the first to develop a new anti-abortion law following a Supreme Court ruling.
Judge later blocked the lawarguing that the state constitution does grant a right to bodily autonomy and that the ban unconstitutionally burdens the rights of Indiana residents by “making that autonomy largely dependent on having first experienced extreme sexual violence or significant physical harm or death.”
The Indiana Supreme Court agreed to suspend the law on Oct. 12 pending a hearing in January.
