Politics
Biden blames Trump for Florida’s 6-week abortion ban during Tampa visit
President Joe Biden on Tuesday blamed Donald Trump for Florida’s upcoming abortion ban and other restrictions across the country that have imperiled access to care for pregnant women, arguing Trump has created a “health care crisis for women all over this country.”
Biden’s campaign events at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa placed the president in the epicenter of the latest battle over abortion restrictions. The state’s six-week abortion ban is poised to go into effect May 1 at the same time that Florida voters are gearing up for a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the states constitution.
Biden said that millions of women are facing “pain and cruelty.” “But it’s not inevitable. We can stop it. When you vote, we can stop it.”
The president is seeking to capitalize on the unceasing momentum against abortion restrictions nationwide to not only buoy his reelection bid in battleground states he won in 2020 but also to go on the offensive against Trump in states that the presumptive Republican nominee won four years ago. One of those states is Florida, where Biden lost to Trump by 3.3 percentage points.
On Tuesday, he chronicled increasing medical concerns for women in the two years since the Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections.
“There was one person who was responsible for this nightmare,” Biden said. “And he’s acknowledged it and he brags about it Donald Trump.”
Biden said Trump, who has publicly waffled on his abortion views, and of late has said abortion is a matter for states to decide, is concerned voters will now hold him accountable.
“Folks, the bad news for Trump is that we are going to hold him accountable,” Biden said.
At the same time, advocates on the ground say support for abortion access cuts across parties. They’re intent on making the issue as nonpartisan as possible as they work to scrounge up at least 60% support from voters for the ballot initiative.
That could mean in some cases, Florida voters would split their tickets, backing GOP candidates while supporting the abortion measure.
“I think that normal people are aware that a candidate campaign is really different than a ballot initiative,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, which gathered signatures to put the abortion question before voters. “You can vote for your preferred candidate of any political party and still not agree with them on every single issue.”
Brenzel continued, “This gives voters an opportunity to have their message heard on one policy platform.”
On the same day the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the ballot measure could go before voters, it also upheld the states 15-week abortion ban. That subsequently cleared the way for the new ban on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, which is often before women know they are pregnant, to go into effect next week.
Organizers of the abortion ballot measure say they collected nearly 1.5 million signatures to put the issue before voters, although the state stopped counting at just under a million. Roughly 891,500 signatures were required. Of the total number of signatures, about 35% were from either registered Republican voters or those not affiliated with a party, organizers said.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, said if the abortion ballot initiative becomes branded as a partisan effort, “it just makes it more challenging to reach 60%.” Eskamani, who worked at Planned Parenthood before running for political office, said she is encouraging the Biden administration to focus broadly on the impact of a six-week ban and let the ballot measure speak for itself.
“At the end of the day, the ballot initiative is going to be a multimillion-dollar campaign that stands very strongly on its own,” Eskamani said.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a question on whether the former president, a Florida voter, would oppose or support the ballot measure. In an NBC interview last September, Trump called Floridas six-week ban “terrible.” But he has repeatedly highlighted the three conservative-leaning justices he chose for the high court who cleared the way to overturn Roe.
Republicans were dismissive of the Biden campaign and the broader Democratic Partys efforts to use abortion as a political cudgel, arguing that other issues will matter more with voters in November.
“Biden must have forgotten that thousands of Americans have fled from extremist Democrat policies to prosperous and pro-life states like Florida,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.
Still, Trump and other Republicans are aware that voter backlash against increasing restrictions could be a serious liability this fall.
Abortion-rights supporters have won every time the issue has been put before voters, including in solidly conservative states such as Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio. Last month, a Democrat in a suburban state House district in Alabama flipped the seat from Republican control by campaigning on abortion rights, weeks after in vitro fertilization services had been paused in the state.
Nikki Fried, the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, said Florida will be a competitive state on the presidential level “because of the extremism that has come out of Florida.” No Democrat has won the state on the presidential level since 2012, but state party officials have found some glimmers of political change in vastly smaller races, such as the open Jacksonville mayor’s race last May that saw a Democrat win in what was once a solidly Republican city.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said at a news conference before the visit that the abortion amendment was written in a way to deliberately mislead voters, an argument that the state Supreme Court disagreed with when it approved the ballot language.
“All I can tell you is Floridians are not buying what Joe Biden is selling and in November were going to play an instrumental role in sending him back to Delaware where he belongs,” he said.
By: Seung Min Kim
Title: Biden blames Trump for Florida’s 6-week abortion ban during Tampa visit
Sourced From: www.wptv.com/news/political/biden-blames-trump-for-floridas-6-week-abortion-ban-during-tampa-visit-says-women-nationwide-face-health-crisis
Published Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2024 21:23:35 GMT
In a matter of hours, reproductive health care in Florida will change dramatically.
The state’s six-week abortion ban takes effect Wednesday. It’s a point when many women don’t even know they are pregnant.
At Planned Parenthood in West Palm Beach, leaders say their staff will stay as late as needed to make sure every patient on the schedule is seen until the clock strikes midnight and everything changes.
Michelle Quesada, the Planned Parenthood vice president of communications for southeast and north Florida, said it was a somber mood inside the clinic Tuesday. “It’s tragic, it’s frustrating knowing our staff has the skills and capabilities and resources to offer this care, but the law says we can’t, and politicians without medical degrees are making these decisions and they are not the ones in the exam rooms with the patients,” she said. “We have staff that are very compassionate with their patients, they care about their job, and they care about what’s happening with reproductive health care so it’s a really sad time.”
Quesada added, “Even today we’ve already had patients that if they are beyond six weeks today, day one consultation, when they return 24 hours for their second consultation they are too far along, and we will not be able to offer that care.” She said they rearranged schedules to move up appointments from May to April. “It’s been a very challenging time but it was important we moved those patients up to April, so they had enough time to make the right decision for themselves.”
As of May 1, the six-week abortion ban will be in effect with certain exceptions.
According to the law, “Two physicians must certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to save the pregnant womans life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.”
It also states there is an exception if, “the pregnancy has not progressed to the third trimester, fetus has not achieved viability under s. 390.01112 and two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality.” Or if “the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest, or human trafficking and the gestational age of the fetus is not more than 15 weeks as determined by the physician. At the time the woman schedules or arrives for her appointment to obtain the abortion, she must provide a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation providing evidence that she is obtaining the termination of pregnancy because she is a victim of rape, incest, or human trafficking.”
Dr. Grazie Christie, a South Florida radiologist working with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the Heartbeat Protection Act, as it’s known, will do just that. “I don’t like to think of this as a ban. I like to think of it as protection. And that’s because these patients of mine that are very small inside their moms are just as much patients to me as their moms. They are dignified, they are human,” she said. “If an elective abortion is going to be performed, it shouldn’t be performed later.”
Christie added that “it’s very rare to find a mother or father say ‘if only I had been able to abort my child.’ I’ve never heard a parent say that. … Expectant moms are going to find their health care in relation to their pregnancy isn’t going to change. We treat the baby and the mother as dignified important patients to us, so nothing really is going to change except elective abortions.”
While supporters are glad to see this take effect, opponents hope it’s only temporary, as Florida voters head to the polls in November and can choose to return Florida abortion laws to about 24 weeks.
By: Stephanie Susskind
Title: ‘Terrifying new normal:’ Planned Parenthood faces 6-week abortion ban Wednesday
Sourced From: www.wptv.com/news/state/terrifying-new-normal-planned-parenthood-faces-6-week-abortion-ban-wednesday
Published Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2024 21:36:31 GMT
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Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.news4palmbeach.com/politics/desantis-attends-naming-of-william-r-laurie-field-at-american-heritage-school-2/
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday attended the ceremonial naming of the football stadium at American Heritage School in Delray Beach.
William R. Laurie Field is named after the CEO and founder of American Heritage Schools, which has locations in Delray Beach and Plantation.
Laurie, who was in attendance at Monday’s dedication, founded American Heritage Schools in 1965. American Heritage has “grown to become the top private school in the nation for academic excellence,” according to its website.
“American Heritage has been recognized as being No. 1 among all private schools for producing National Merit Scholars, including 15 among the class of 2024,” DeSantis said.
Laurie spoke with WPTV about what the announcement means to him.
“I am overwhelmed with some of the comments that were made, but so much of it, I have to say, were the people that were working with me all these 60 years,” Laurie said. “Each and every one of them has been a very positive part of my success and our success in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties. When you find something that you love, you are very, very fortunate in this world. So many people go through their lives and never find something they love no matter whether it’s a low-paying job or a high-paying job. That’s what’s important to find your likeness, your love for something.”
He said having the field bear his name is something the 94-year-old has hoped for.
“I’ve wanted the field named after me because it’s meant so much to me from my playing football days in high school to watching college football and developing the football program here,” Laurie said.
By: Matt Papaycik
Title: DeSantis attends naming of William R. Laurie Field at American Heritage School
Sourced From: www.wptv.com/sports/local-sports/high-school/desantis-attends-naming-of-william-r-laurie-field-at-american-heritage-school
Published Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:07:11 GMT
Politics
Florida ‘will not comply’ with new protections for transgender students in Title IX, Gov. Ron DeSantis says
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state “will not comply” with new changes to Title IX by the Biden administration, which offers added protections for transgender students.
“Florida rejects Joe Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX,” DeSantis said in Thursday in a post on X. “We will not comply, and we will fight back.”
A new rule unveiled by the Biden administration on April 19 blocks blanket policies that would prevent transgender students from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
A nearly 1,600-page document outlines the new rules for any school that receives federal funding. It explains how discrimination based on sex also includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The rule makes it “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.
“No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love,” Cardona told reporters on April 19. “Sadly, this happens all too often.”
The changes take effect in early August.
However, in a letter to school district superintendents and charter school leaders this week, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz told them not to begin implementing any changes because “Florida will fight this.” He wrote, “In Florida, we respect parents’ rights to direct their children’s education. We protect our students’ safety and privacy.”
Read the full letter from Diaz to school leaders:
Last August, the Florida Board of Education approved a rule that prohibits someone from willfully entering a restroom or changing area of the opposite sex, specifically in Florida’s colleges and universities.
“We are not gonna let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities,” DeSantis said Thursday on X. “We are not gonna let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents. And we are not gonna let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida.”
Jon Harris Maurer, the public policy director for Equality Florida, supports the move by the federal government.
“We’ve been waiting for these rules for some time, and we’re excited to see rules to affirm what we’ve long understood that these regulations protect LGBTQ students including transgender students,” Maurer said.
While Maurer said the group was excited to see the new Title IX regulations, they were not surprised to see DeSantis take a stand against them.
“What we see is the governor now playing cruel politics that will hold hostage students across the state who risk their education funding at the federal level because of these challenges,” Maurer said.
He said Equality Florida will continue to fight to make sure parents and students understand their rights.
Legal challenges are expected to pile on from Florida and other states.
Schools could lose federal funding if they are not in compliance, but it’s not clear if the federal government would exercise that ability. It is also not yet decided how this will impact athletics. The Department of Education said it is still going through the rulemaking process on that front.
Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education Association, provided the following statement to WPTV:
“Every student in Florida deserves a world-class education. When elected officials decide to place their political agendas ahead of students in Florida and ignore federal protections meant to keep students safe, students lose out. We know that in order for students to learn in a classroom, they must feel safe in their schools. At the Florida Education Association, we remain committed to working with our statewide partners to ensure every student can learn, grow, and thrive in our classrooms and that every educator has the ability to advocate for their students, and fight for better lives for themselves and their loved ones.” By: Matt Papaycik
Title: Florida ‘will not comply’ with new protections for transgender students in Title IX, Gov. Ron DeSantis says
Sourced From: www.wptv.com/news/state/florida-will-not-comply-with-new-protections-for-transgender-students-in-title-ix-governor-says
Published Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:43:58 GMT
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