WASHINGTON — Florida’s devastating 6-week abortion ban takes effect today, sending shockwaves through the South as abortion access is now severely limited in most of the region.
Most women don’t know they’re pregnant at 6 weeks, yet Republican lawmakers across the country continue their crusade to undermine life-saving care and to control the lives of women. Florida joins a list of 16 other GOP-led states with extreme abortion bans at six weeks or less.
As the DLCC outlined in a memo last month, twenty-five states – all controlled by Republican legislatures – have enacted laws to ban or restrict abortion earlier than the standard previously protected by Roe. State legislative elections this year will decide the future of abortion, and supporting the DLCC and electing Democratic majorities in the states is the strongest way to protect fundamental reproductive freedoms in post-Dobbs America.
The DLCC stands with Florida Democrats, including Florida House Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell, as they look to find a remedy for this egregious ban and continue to build back power in the state.
Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell issued the following statement:
“The extreme six-week ban passed by Florida Republicans and signed into law by Governor DeSantis casts an ominous shadow over the futures of young women who now have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. It has turned women’s bodies into political pawns and degraded every Floridian’s right to medical privacy. The effects of this regressive ban will ripple across the Southeast, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities.
Most Floridians, regardless of political affiliation, agree that medical decisions should be free of government intrusion and kept between women and their doctors. Fortunately, Floridians will have the opportunity to make their voices heard this November. We can put out-of-touch politicians in their place and move our state towards a path where we all have the freedom to be healthy, prosperous, and safe.”
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams issued the following statement:
“Women in Florida are waking up today with fewer rights than they had yesterday. Florida now has one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country – the latest effort of Republican state legislatures across both the South and the rest of the country to take away our bodily autonomy.
“As Republicans advance extreme abortion restrictions at warp speed, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the 2024 elections. This ban highlights the need to build and expand Democratic power in the state legislatures that are on the frontlines of determining abortion laws and the DLCC will continue to hold Republicans accountable for their anti-abortion extremism through this November and beyond. ”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
###
