A 15-week ban on abortion in Florida hasn't decreased the number of procedures done in the state as women from surrounding states with more restrictive bans head here for their procedures.
鈥淲e are seeing a lot of in-state and out-of-state individuals who are having to travel farther to receive care,鈥� said Miranda Colavito, with Planned Parenthood communications. Colavito has been doing advocacy work for women鈥檚 rights for five years.
Colavito said that Florida is a big access point not only for neighboring states but also for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The current situation has caused some confusion about Florida's legislation.
鈥淪o many people think that the six-week ban has already passed, and we鈥檙e making sure they know that they can still get an abortion up to 15 weeks,鈥� she said.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, decisions over abortion rights shifted to the states from the federal government. States were then allowed to pass their own abortion laws. Several already had.
Florida鈥檚 15-week ban on abortion took effect in July of 2022, but its standing is under question due to legal challenges. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week ban in April, but it will not take effect until the legality of the 15-week ban is determined.
READ MORE: Groups putting abortion on the Florida ballot believe they have the signatures they need
Thirteen states enacted trigger laws that would further restrict or ban abortion. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have a complete ban with limited exceptions, such as rape, incest and mother or baby fatality. Georgia has a six-week ban.
As the 15-week ban became law, Florida abortion clinics, ironically, became busier.
A bill was also passed within the same month as the 15-week abortion ban took effect. HB 633 adds to an existing law that physicians need to provide women information鈥攕uch as medical risks, a description of the fetus and alternatives to ending their pregnancy鈥攖o obtain their consent.
Under the bill, physicians need to provide the information in person to the women at least 24 hours before the procedure.
鈥淭he 24-hour delay and consent rules are really increasing the difficulty in getting appointments for individuals,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 doubling [increasing] the expense for patients. It doubles the time [they need to take off of work] if they have to miss work and find childcare, or if they need a ride to see us for all these different pieces.鈥�
The 24-hour delay also poses travel and lodging problems for clients coming into Florida because of the additional time needed.
However, Patient Navigation, a Planned Parenthood program, allows affiliates to collaborate and find patients the care they need regardless of their location.
鈥淧lanned Parenthood instituted Patient Navigation just last year after Roe v. Wade was overturned. They coordinate across the entire country to see if we have funding available for patients in need of their expenses to be covered,鈥� Colavito said.
Expenses eligible for coverage include lodgings, food, travel fees and sometimes even the procedure.
鈥淚 feel that we will do everything we can for everyone who lives in and out of our service area,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 come into a clinic, we鈥檒l make a telehealth appointment.鈥�
Aside from Planned Parenthood, Florida Access Network (FAN), an organization that focuses on providing tangible resources to clients seeking an abortion, also helps women coming in and going out of Florida.
An official at FAN, said they had an influx of women coming in from Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia in July 2022 and were able to pay for them to get abortion procedures done, assist with gas or flight costs, lodging and food. At one point, they were also doing childcare.
But because FAN is an individual organization without consistent funding, it had to shift its focus from out-of-state clients to Floridians within five months of the new legislation.
The official said they made a decision to pivot to Floridians because they did not have the capacity, financially or even internally with staff, to help both Floridians and out-of-state clients with all of the requests coming in.
READ MORE: Here's the current state of abortion rights in Florida
FAN partners with other clinics and private entities throughout the United States to help clients outside of Florida receive the funds they seek for their abortion.
As abortion clinics and activists take strides toward helping women obtain an abortion despite state bans, women鈥檚 care centers and organizations are working to reach women traveling in and out of state first.
They are focusing on outreach, governmental push and making all information available before women seek an abortion.
Rebecca Klein is the 14-year-long executive director of A Woman鈥檚 Choice, a pregnancy health clinic in Lakeland, Florida.
Klein said the center鈥檚 mission is to reach women and men facing unplanned pregnancies who specifically believe that abortion is their only option.
A Woman鈥檚 Choice provides pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, STI testing and support programs that provide education and mentorship, infant and maternity supplies and fatherhood training.
Klein鈥檚 bottom line is informing women before they make a life-altering decision. She touched on the importance of HB 633 in ensuring that women are properly informed.
鈥淚 understand that many of the women we serve have travel issues, but that鈥檚 not enough of a reason to expedite a process that is permanent and impacts the rest of their lives, whether they choose an abortion or not,鈥� she said.
Klein gave an analogy to show the importance of women slowing down and seeking other options before making a critical decision.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no other decision that we make where there鈥檚 such a push for it to happen so quickly as there is with abortion,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven with buying a car, people want all of the options and information. Same goes with touring college campuses to choose the perfect fit. These life decisions warrant time and information, and that鈥檚 what we want to make sure that they have instead of making decisions out of crisis mode.鈥�
Anecdotally, these women鈥檚 clinics have experienced higher numbers of visits recently. Though Lakeland hasn鈥檛 experienced an influx, Klein said, she鈥檚 aware of it happening in bigger cities.
鈥淚 went to a conference in Jacksonville near the border, and the executive director of the Jacksonville center shared that her numbers have increased tremendously as she鈥檚 seen women coming directly over the border,鈥� she said.
Klein said she wants to be sure women who are seeking abortions in Florida are aware of centers like hers.
鈥淢arketing is major for our centers. It ensures that when women from outside of Florida are looking for options in Florida on the internet, they find us first,鈥� she said.
A Woman鈥檚 Choice also launched a mobile medical unit this year in Lakeland. The units go to women who have travel restrictions.
鈥淚t provides the core services that are provided here at our center,鈥� she said.
The 15-week ban was a win for anti-abortion organizations, and activists say they are pushing for more life-protecting laws.
Andy Secola, the Florida regional coordinator of Students for Life America, believes that the biggest motivator of change will happen through education and governmental pressure.
The national non-profit organization meets with schools and educates students on being activists.
鈥淲e educate people about how extreme the abortion industry is. As soon as pro-abortion politicians get into office, they push for full access abortions to be made faster, easier, accessible and more profitable,鈥� he said.
After Roe was overturned, Students for Life America grew in number of activists. Secola said this is due to people realizing that something can be done about abortion.
鈥淲e had so much interest from students wanting to build clubs that we had to hire an additional department of field team members,鈥� Secola said. 鈥淲e really exploded in growth.鈥�
He said their next step is pushing for 鈥渉eartbeat or better,鈥� or a six-week ban.
鈥淚 believe that the influx of women coming into Florida is proof that the 15-week bans don鈥檛 help. I don鈥檛 believe in the hardcore abolitionist mentality of 鈥榓ll or nothing鈥� because we are pro-incremental legislation. But now we see that six-week bans work and 15-week bans don鈥檛,鈥� he said.
The Florida law banning abortion after a heartbeat can be detected, which is at about six weeks, will go into effect after 30 days if the 15-week ban is deemed constitutional.
RELATED: Flipping the script: Will Floridians now travel to Latin America for abortions?
Cristina Pop is a journalism student at Florida Gulf Coast University. This article was written for her Writing for a Mass Audience class with Professor Lyn Millner. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and now. Thank you.
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