[[link removed]] Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
May 1, 2024
From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists.
Florida’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Will Force Longer Waits, Further Travels and Higher Costs [[link removed]]
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Abortion rights activists stage a counter-protest in Orlando on April 13, 2024, to kick off the “Yes on 4” campaign, which puts abortion rights on the ballot in the November 2024 election. (Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images)
BY WAKABA OTO | May 1 marks the first day that Florida’s law banning abortion after just six weeks of pregnancy takes effect.
In April 2022, months before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Florida passed a law reducing the legal period for abortions from 24 weeks to 15 weeks. A year later, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed an increasingly draconian bill limiting abortions to six weeks of pregnancy. The enforcement of this six-week ban depended on the legality of the 15-week limit.
On April 1, the Florida Supreme Court—with its five DeSantis appointees—delivered its verdict: The 15-week ban is constitutional under state law, and therefore, the six-week ban can take effect.
The six-week cutoff effectively functions as a total ban. Pregnancy is determined from the last menstrual cycle; conception usually occurs in the second week, and the first sign of pregnancy—a missed period—typically appears around four weeks. This timeline gives patients as little as two weeks to recognize their pregnancy, schedule their appointment and arrange travel … assuming they realize they’re pregnant at all.
The law’s six-week timeframe is based on the state legislature’s assertion that a fetal heartbeat can be detected at six weeks. However, this claim contradicts scientific evidence, which shows that a fetal heart does not form until 10 to 12 weeks or later.
Florida also requires two in-person visits at least 24 hours apart before someone can get an abortion.
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The Rise of Deepfakes Demands Legislative Action [[link removed]] Nine Need-to-Know Changes From the New Title IX Rules [[link removed]]
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Can Idaho ‘Force Someone Onto a Helicopter’ as the Standard of Medical Care for Accessing Health-Stabilizing Abortions? [[link removed]] ‘Tragedy Upon Tragedy’: What the Justices’ Questions on EMTALA Revealed [[link removed]]
What we're reading
Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week:
*
"The
overturning
of
Harvey
Weinstein’s
conviction
is
‘a
sad
reminder’
for
his
accusers”
—
The
19th
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
In this episode, we’re joined by the indomitable Lizz Winstead with a live studio in Washington, D.C. She bares all as we talk about the new documentary featuring her and Abortion Access Front (AAF), No One Asked You. From her childhood to her own abortion story, she tells it all, including what led her to found AAF.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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