MIAMI.- The number of abortions made in Florida continues to increase annually, because pregnancy terminations carried out by residents from other parts of the country who travel to the Sunshine State continue to have a significant impact on official figures.
According to updated 2023 data provided by the Agency for Health Care Administration, released Jan. 31, 84,052 abortions were performed in Florida last year. This represents an increase compared to the 82,192 recorded in 2022, reflecting a worrying trend in the state.
According to government statistics, this increase in the number of abortions was driven primarily by patients who are not Florida residentsbut they traveled to the state to undergo the procedure due to restrictions in their places of origin.
In the last year, 7,736 people from other states had abortions in Florida. This data represents an increase of 15% compared to the previous year.
However, the increase was even more notable in 2022, when abortions performed by people from out of state increased 38% compared to the immediately previous year.
Why abortions increased
The increase is explained by the fact that most of Florida’s neighboring states have restrictive laws on abortion, as some limit access after six weeks of pregnancy and others after conception, with very limited exceptions.
Currently, the Supreme Court of Florida is considering a legal challenge to the state’s ban on abortion at 15 weeks. If this ban stands, a law imposing a six-week ban, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, would take effect after 30 days.
Additionally, a court is considering whether to exclude from Florida’s ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to protect the right to abortion.
They ask to block pro-abortion amendment
In this context, the state has asked the judges to block this measure. Despite this, the group supporting the proposal has managed to gather almost one million voter signatures, far more than the 891,523 needed for the proposal to be put to a vote.
Earlier this month, a Florida court heard arguments on the looming constitutional amendment but deferred making a decision.
Therefore, on April 1 the court must decide whether to approve the text of the measure, which says: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before its viability. or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.”
Anti-abortion groups and the state’s own attorney general have asked Florida’s high court to stop the proposal.
Prosecutor Ashley Moody presented a court file that points out the electoral proposal as a “devious strategy” to “mislead voters”.
For their part, proponents of the amendment maintain that the language of the ballot question and the proposed amendment are terse and that Attorney General Moody is supposedly “playing politics,” rather than letting the “voters decide” if they protect access to abortions.
“The language and amendment are clear and unambiguous,” Courtney Brewer, an attorney with Floridians Protecting Freedom, said after a hearing. “Florida voters will be able to understand that, and based on today’s questioning by the court, I’m sure they will understand that too.”
