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Doctors race against Florida's six-week abortion ban
Orlando Sentinel - Gift LinkWith just days until Florida’s six-week abortion ban takes effect on Wednesday, providers are rushing to perform as many abortions as possible while planning contingencies for a future where they will need to turn thousands of women away.
Clinics have expanded hours, prioritized ultrasounds and added appointments in these final weeks. They’ve fortified their patient navigation efforts and strengthened relationships with abortion fund groups like the Florida Access Network that provide financial and logistical support to people seeking to terminate pregnancies.
Though the ban has limited exceptions, Planned Parenthood will stop offering any abortions past six weeks at all, instead helping navigate those people to other states or referring them to other providers, said Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida’s interim CEO Barbara Zdravecky.
“Planned Parenthood’s motto has always been ‘care no matter what.’ And we don’t turn patients away. So this is a very devastating and tragic situation for our staff, who have to say, ‘we can’t take care of you, we have to send you someplace else,’” Zdravecky said.
Patient panic
As medical providers race against the clock, many patients are unaware their time is running out, said Dr. Chelsea Daniels, a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health and an abortion provider in South Florida. When she tells patients about the imminent ban, she’s mostly met with shock.
Clinics have expanded hours, prioritized ultrasounds and added appointments in these final weeks. They’ve fortified their patient navigation efforts and strengthened relationships with abortion fund groups like the Florida Access Network that provide financial and logistical support to people seeking to terminate pregnancies.
Though the ban has limited exceptions, Planned Parenthood will stop offering any abortions past six weeks at all, instead helping navigate those people to other states or referring them to other providers, said Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida’s interim CEO Barbara Zdravecky.
“Planned Parenthood’s motto has always been ‘care no matter what.’ And we don’t turn patients away. So this is a very devastating and tragic situation for our staff, who have to say, ‘we can’t take care of you, we have to send you someplace else,’” Zdravecky said.
Patient panic
As medical providers race against the clock, many patients are unaware their time is running out, said Dr. Chelsea Daniels, a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health and an abortion provider in South Florida. When she tells patients about the imminent ban, she’s mostly met with shock.