Today, the Florida Legislature continued attacks on women as they debated and passed two anti-choice bills (HB 839 and HB 1327) in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee. Women’s health advocates, citing a recent report that finds Florida women face a health crisis, question legislative priorities.
“Some legislators are obsessed with a narrow anti-choice agenda, while they should be focused on helping the nearly two million women who do not have health insurance,” said Lisa Murano, Director of Education & Advocacy at Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando. “Let’s stop scoring political points and start supporting women and their families as they struggle to get access to the health care they need.”
The “Women’s Health at Risk” report, released by the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, reveals that Florida women face serious obstacles as they struggle to get access to affordable, quality health care. The report finds that almost a third of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Florida are women. Florida also has a high rate of unintended pregnancies each year. In Orange County, teen mothers accounted for 1,737 births, and over 260 of those were repeat births to teens who are already parents.
“Florida has almost a-quarter-of-a-million unintended pregnancies annually,” Murano said. “So why are legislators trying to make it harder to access reproductive health care services, such as birth control and sex education? Planned Parenthood is trying to reduce unintended pregnancies by making access to reproductive health services affordable and obtainable while politicians in Tallahassee are working against us.”
Planned Parenthood is urging members of the Florida Legislature to oppose the anti-choice bills that will hurt women.
“Florida women’s health is at risk because of insufficient access to affordable, quality health care,” Murano said. “We challenge lawmakers to join with Planned Parenthood in our efforts to improve women’s health and protect women’s rights.”
To read the full “Women’s Health at Risk” report or to review county data visit www.FloridaPlannedParenthood.com
