Republicans in the Florida Legislature are fast-tracking a 15-week abortion ban over the objections of activists and medical professionals.

Last Thursday, students activists chanted "Let us speak," after the committee chairperson, Rep. Bryan Avila - R-Miami Springs - cut off public comment to give committee members time to debate.

The bill was approved on a party-line vote. It states a "physician may not perform a termination of pregnancy if the physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is more than 15 weeks."

Dr. Guy Benrubi, a Jacksonville-based obstetrician and gynecologist, said the rule is problematic for a number of reasons.

"We have some women that only have three cycles a year," said Benrubi. "How is this woman doing to know that she hasn't had a cycle this month because she's pregnant? And, you know, 15 weeks is three-and-a-half months. She may not have a period during the three-and-a-half month period."

The ban includes an exception if the pregnant person's health is at risk, but there are no exceptions for rape or incest.

The legislature has a GOP majority and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signaled his support for the ban. The bill has one final committee stop this week before a House vote.

Dr. Benrubi predicted if the bill becomes law, it would have the most impact on the state's most vulnerable populations - including some who would have to drive up to 570 miles to the nearest clinic.

"Worst impact for women of color, for women who do not have a lot of resources, for rural women," said Benrubi, "because its difficult to get to providers. There are not that many providers in the state, and there are a lot of counties that have absolutely no providers."

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Florida issued this statement: "Like all medical matters, decisions regarding reproductive medical care should be made between a patient and their health care provider - not lawmakers."

The bill's next hearing is Wednesday in the Health and Human Services Committee.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week on Idaho's near-total abortion ban.

Idaho v. United States is on the docket for Wednesday.

At issue is whether the ban violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which prohibits hospitals from denying patients medical care because of financial or insurance issues.

The Idaho law has restricted access to reproductive care. Rory Cole is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington who is from Idaho and plans to practice in the state.

"A lot of these patients that we've been seeing don't really have a choice anymore, in that sense of it's not about if they want to be pregnant or not," said Cole. "It's about saving their life or their health, and we can't help them in Idaho."

Other states will be watching Idaho's Supreme Court case, and it could have an outsize impact on rural states that ban abortion, leaving patients with few options for care.

Cole said the Idaho law puts doctors in a tough place.

"The wording is so vague in the legislation here, that it makes it just extraordinarily challenging for doctors to kind of know what is legal and what is not legal here now," said Cole, "which is a place that no physician wants to exist in."

Idaho has seen an exodus of medical providers. The state has lost 22% of its practicing obstetricians since its abortion ban took effect, according to a recent report.

"Ultimately," said Cole, "that place of needing to help the people in Idaho and the people here deserving wonderful care was what brought me to basically try and stay in Idaho for residency."




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Vending machines commonly found in workplace break rooms generally contain soft drinks or snacks but one machine in Indianapolis dispenses unconventional items at the turn of a knob.

The Plan B morning-after pill, pregnancy tests and condoms are displayed in a clear glass case inside a colorful blue and orange dispenser. The items provide easy access to protection against an unwanted pregnancy and are free of charge.

Melissa Gruver, organizing director of the feminist organization Indiana Task FORCE, said it operates like a traditional vending machine.

"You just push whenever you want and it falls down, and you reach your hand through the little door and you pull it out, take it with you," Gruver explained.

A 2022 Indiana Department of Health Termination Report indicated 9,600 pregnancies were aborted, with Marion County recording the highest number of unwanted pregnancies. The report also noted the average age of a woman in Indiana who sought an abortion was 27, and 67% of all terminated pregnancies occurred within four to eight weeks of conception.

The state's contentious near-total abortion ban, which was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court last year, has stoked fears lawmakers may begin restricting a woman's choice of birth control.

Indiana Task FORCE and reproductive health groups All-Options and the Midwest Access Coalition want the emergency contraceptive vending machine to serve as a gathering spot for community conversations on reproductive rights and sexual health.

"We've long been organizing our communities to bring about reproductive justice, which we didn't have before and we definitely don't have it now," Gruver pointed out. "But what we know to be true is that there are more of us that want access to reproductive care than those that try to stop it. We're excited to continue to work to meet this need now, and to organize for a better community."

Gruver hopes to have one dispenser in every Indiana region in the future to add to the single machine currently in an eastside Indianapolis grocery store. She added some universities in the state already have vending machines offering similar contraception products but users have to purchase the items.

This story is based on original reporting by Mary Claire Molloy for Mirror Indy.


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