As abortion providers and people with unwanted pregnancies navigate the challenges of Florida’s new six-week abortion ban, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill, supported by anti-abortion groups, that directs the state to create a taxpayer-funded website offering “pregnancy and parenting resources.”
But notably, it will contain no references advising users how to access abortion care.
Supporters of the bill (HB 415), approved by DeSantis on Friday, pitched it as a centralized resource that would offer information and resources related to pregnancy and parenting, including prenatal and postnatal services, social services, financial assistance, adoption services and mentorship programs for fathers — but notably, as opponents pointed out, no abortion-related information.
Florida Democrats in opposition to the bill tried to amend it to ensure all information on the taxpayer-funded website would be “medically accurate” and include “medically accurate information about abortions.” Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, saw this as a way to make it a comprehensive resource capable of educating Floridians on all of their options, free of any political agenda.
“Let’s make sure that it's accurate. Let’s make sure it's comprehensive. Let's make sure that it helps a person of every political background, of every ideology, of every income, of every faith,” Eskamani shared in a plea to her colleagues, ahead of the final vote on the bill in the Florida House. “Let's make sure that it's truly a reliable source of information that isn't coercive in nature, but provides objectivity for someone to make the right decision for them.”
Florida Rep. Rita Harris — the sponsor of the amendment to make sure all of the website’s information is “medically accurate” — put it bluntly. “Floridians deserve honest, accurate and transparent access to all their options, not a narrowly tailored list designed by extremists,” said Harris.
Florida’s GOP-dominated Legislature rejected attempts by Democrats to change the bill, which public testimony records show was supported by anti-abortion organizations like Florida Right to Life, Florida Voice for the Unborn, and the Florida Family Policy Council — a nonprofit of “social conservative advocates” that also rails against the so-called “gay agenda” and is affiliated with national anti-abortion organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Florida Republican Berny Jacques, the House sponsor of the bill, blatantly called out Democrats for their proposed amendments in a mask-off moment on the House floor.
“It’s quite disturbing that some of my colleagues in this chamber are hell-bent on adding the killing of the unborn to a website that has to do with resources for parents,” Jacques chastised, going on to defend the bill as an effort to aid Florida families.
The Senate version of the bill — ultimately abandoned in favor of the similar House version — was sponsored by Sen. Erin Grall, a Republican from Vero Beach who carried the bill last year that cleared the way for Florida’s six-week abortion ban.
Under Florida’s existing "alternatives to abortion" program — first established by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — the state already has a state contract with the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, a not-for-profit that keeps a running database of anti-abortion pregnancy centers in Florida that already receive taxpayer funds to stay in business.
These facilities, also known as crisis pregnancy centers, are generally run by religious organizations, and often describe themselves as “medical” or “health” clinics, even when they lack a state medical license or licensed medical staff.Some are also known to use coercive tactics, such as spreading false information about alleged risks of abortion, providing false "due dates" or using disturbing visuals, to shame and ultimately deter pregnant people from obtaining abortions.
Crisis pregnancy centers — which regularly advertise information about abortion, without providing it — outnumber actual licensed abortion clinics in Florida three to one, with over a dozen in Central Florida alone.
Tax filings from the Florida Pregnancy Care Network show a few dozen CPCs are also funded in part by Floridians’ tax dollars (unlike abortion clinics, which are barred from receiving state or local funds).
Opponents to House Bill 415 worry the bill will funnel even more taxpayer money into a state website that will similarly promote these anti-abortion facilities. “This website is another example of the state of Florida weaponizing public dollars and public agencies to pursue political agendas,” Eskamani told Orlando Weekly in a phone interview Monday.
House Bill 415 includes a one-time $466,200 appropriation for the state Department of Health to establish the website, operational by Jan. 1, 2025.
The department has been directed to contract with a third-party company to develop the website, and to consult with the state Agency for Health Care Administration — which has spread misleading information about abortion — and the Florida Department of Children and Families on its contents.A Florida House staff analysis of the bill notes that similar websites have been developed in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas through their states’ own "alternatives to abortion" programs. “Florida does not currently have a comprehensive state website containing information related to available public and private pregnancy and parenting resources,” the analysis adds.
Some Democrats — and the Florida Parent Teachers Association — even supported the bill during early committee hearings on it. But Cheyenne Drews, deputy communications director for Progress Florida — an opponent of the bill — explained to Orlando Weekly that this occurred before the GOP bill sponsors made it clear they intended to keep any information about abortion services off the website, and that the website may in fact promote the anti-abortion pregnancy centers. A couple Democrats on the House floor admitted as much, too.
“This website is another example of the state of Florida weaponizing public dollars and public agencies to pursue political agendas”
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The bill passed the House in a 83-33 vote in February largely along party lines, with only one Democrat — Rep. Lisa Dunkley — in support. A month later, it passed the Florida Senate in a 27-12 vote, with all Democrats opposed.
Moving forward, Rep. Eskamani stressed that it’s important for Floridians to continue to “educate ourselves” about the state’s rules on abortion and the options for obtaining one either independently or with the help of an abortion fund.
“A lot of Floridians don't think that they can access an abortion anymore because of the six-week ban,” Eskamani told Orlando Weekly. “And though they obviously are going to be a little bit limited and restricted here in the Sunshine State, we want to make sure that Floridians know they have options — and this website is not going to provide that resource whatsoever.”
Floridians will also have the chance this fall to vote on a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would extend Florida's abortion limit from six weeks of pregnancy to roughly 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. That amendment, Amendment 4, will be on the November 2024 statewide ballot.
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