Florida Supreme Court to Consider Abortion Restriction, Won’t Block Law for Now
1/24/2023
The Florida Supreme Court agreed to take up a lawsuit challenging the state’s 15-week abortion ban but denied a motion to temporarily block the law while litigation continues. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Planned Parenthood, multiple abortion providers and a physician, argues the 2022 law violates the state Constitution’s right to privacy clause. Last summer, Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper issued a temporary injunction blocking the new 15-week abortion ban law from taking effect but the state quickly appealed and under an appellate rule, an automatic stay on the injunction was put in place. Plaintiffs then sought to vacate the stay but the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled the new law could be enforced in the meantime due to the plaintiffs failing to prove “irreparable harm.” The challengers then asked the state’s highest court to block the law but in a 4-1 decision on Monday, justices denied the motion. Although Justice Jorge Labarga dissented, the one-paragraph decision did not provide an explanation for the ruling. The court, however, did agree to hear arguments in the case but a timeline is unclear and oral arguments will be scheduled in a separate order. The 15-week abortion ban (HB 5) was passed by the Legislature during last year’s regular session and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April of 2022. Before the recent law was approved, Florida prohibited abortions at 24 weeks. The new law provides no exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking. Case Docket / Politico / Law360 / W
Legislation to Follow
HB 0219 – Marriage Between Persons of the Same Sex (Rayner-Goolsby) was filed on 1/17/2023. It removes prohibition on recognition of same-sex marriages; removes prohibition on state & its agencies & subdivisions giving effect to public act, record, or judicial proceeding that respects same-sex marriage or relationship or claim arising from such marriage or relationship. Effective Date: July 1, 2023
SB 0270 Equal Rights for Men and Women (Berman)
Equal Rights for Men and Women; Ratifying the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution relating to equal rights for men and women, etc.
Original Filed Version
Florida Agency Warns Pharmacists Not to Dispense Abortion Pills
1/16/2023
Item 4 of the BPW/FL Public Policy Platform, Health Care, states that BPW/FL supports legislation that ensures reproductive choice and full access to all reproductive health education and services, including prescriptions. With pharmacies in some states preparing to dispense abortion pills, Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration sent a letter Thursday to all state health care providers warning them that to do so in Florida is illegal. Read the full article here: https://enewspaper.tampabay.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=ed8dcc1c-67ff-4a8c-8f42-4284e7239b09
Equal Pay Day 2023 will be March 14
1/13/2023
For 2023, the primary recognition date for Equal Pay Day will be Tuesday, March 14. Each year’s date is selected to be a representation of how far into the current calendar year women must work to be paid what men were paid during the previous year. The date is based on the latest U.S. Census figures showing that the average woman who works full time is paid on average just 83% of the typical man’s pay.
Started by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996, the goal of Equal Pay Day is to raise awareness about the gender wage gap here in the U.S. But because the pay gap varies significantly among different communities, other Equal Pay Days have been added to the calendar to reflect the fact that many women, particularly women of color or those who work part time or seasonally, must work far longer into the year to catch up to men. In accordance with our public policy platform, BPW/Florida supports efforts to help close the wage gap, and we encourage all of our local organizations to participate in marking this year’s Equal Pay Day.
League of Women Voters of Florida Announces Legislative Webinar
1/10/2023
LWV of Florida announced the next first edition of its “Lunch & Learn” series for 2023! This week’s webinar will feature a program centered around the League of Women Voters of Florida’s 2023 legislative priorities. In 2023, the League’s efforts will have a strategic focus in the following areas (while there is not 100% alignment of the LWV/FL’s and BPW/FL’s goals, there is significant overlap):
- Voting Rights & Election Reform
- Reproductive Health & Justice
- Education
- Natural Resources
The 2023 Florida legislative session begins on Tuesday, March 7 and is scheduled to end on Friday, May 5. Each year, thousands of bills are filed in advance of the 60-day session and it can be difficult to makes sense of which laws could be impactful to everyday Floridians. Join the League on January 13 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) to learn more from various members of LWVFL’s state action teams that have been selected as legislative priorities on legislation they expect to be filled in respect to their areas of expertise and how best to prepare.
Agenda:
- Discussion: What potential bills/policy ideas are being floated around that may interest the League and its positions?
- Open Q&A Session
- LWVFL Updates & News
To join, Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Registrants should save the meeting link provided at registration. This link is unique to you. It will not work for anyone else, so please do not share it.
Proposal Would Prevent Release of Most Helium-Filled Balloons
1/6/2023
Releasing balloons filled with helium or other lighter than air gas outdoors would be banned under most circumstances under legislation (HB 91) filed Tuesday in the House. Current law allows people to release up to 10 helium balloons into the air. It also allows for the release of any number of balloons that are biodegradable or light degradable as long as they don’t have strings or ribbons attached. The measure filed Tuesday by Rep. Linda Chaney would eliminate those exceptions. The proposal would still allow certain exceptions, such as for weather balloons or others used in government scientific data collection or experiments. When lawmakers put limits on the release of balloons into law back in 2008, they included language in the statute that said “the release into the atmosphere of large numbers of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gasses poses a danger and nuisance to the environment, particularly to wildlife and marine animals.”
Justice Dept.: Despite bans, abortion pills may be mailed to any state
1/5/2023
Legal opinion says existing federal law allows mail delivery because the sender cannot know if the recipient will use the medications illegally. Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/01/04/abortion-pills-mailed-legal/
Feds OK Retail Sales, Delivery of Abortion-Inducing Drugs
1/4/2023
Abortion-inducing pills can now be sold at retail pharmacies and delivered via the U.S. Postal Service, according to a new rule finalized by the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday. President Biden moved to expand access to the drugs last year following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had prevented abortion bans for decades. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel gave clearance to the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the drugs, saying that the mailing of such drugs does not violate a 150-year-old federal law known as the Comstock Act. States with strict abortion laws are expected to challenge the new rule. Associated Press / Axios / New York Times
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Update
12/23/2022
The Senate voted 73 to 24 on 12/22 to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). With this overwhelming bipartisan support, PWFA passed as an amendment to the omnibus bill and will soon become law!
How to Talk to Friends & Family about Election Disinformation
12/15/2022
We want to share this training that is being offered by Common Cause and other leading anti-disinformation groups on how to talk to your friends and family this holiday season about election disinformation. It is being offered on Friday December 16 and Monday December 19. You can sign up here: https://www.mobilize.us/commoncause/event/545324/
In this event participants will:
- Learn the hidden motives behind election disinformation
- Hear from experts about how they fight online disinformation in their communities
- Learn how to talk to your loved ones about online election disinformation without ruining the holiday dinner!
Participants on the 16th are:
- Rebeka Islam Executive Director Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote – Michigan
- John Schmidt Engagement Coordinator, Algorithmic Transparency Institute
Participants on the 19th are:
- Hannah Waltz U.S. Free Expression Programs manager at PEN America
- Jenny Liu Disinformation and Misinformation Policy Manager at Asian Americans Advancing Justice| AAJC
- Josue Romualdo Program Manager For Information Integrity at National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
Congress Acts to Protect Rights
12/9/2022
Item 1 of our Public Policy Platform is Equality for All. Congress acted to ensure that, unfortunately without the support of either of our Senators. See this editorial: Congress protects all marriages, without Rubio and Scott | Editorial – Sun Sentinel (sun-sentinel.com)
What the results of the midterms mean for women’s representation, by the numbers
11/30/2022
On the heels of two record election cycles for women candidates, 2022 cements a new normal for levels of representation. The number of women in Congress has stabilized, and next year a record-breaking number of women will serve as governor — including the first out lesbian governors in the country’s history.
Multiple representation records will be set in next year’s Congress — 149 women total will serve, with 124 women in the House, one more than the current record. Senate representation will slightly increase, with 25 women senators serving compared with this year’s 24. The number of women senators is still lower than the record of 26, set in 2020. The records were cemented last week when Alaska announced the winners in its House and Senate races. Mary Peltola, the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, won a full two-year term in the House, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski won reelection.
“While we celebrate these new records, the story of women and Congress in 2022 is stasis,” Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), said in a statement. “After breakthrough years in 2018 and 2020, the 2022 midterms remind us that we are still far from parity and our work continues.” The past two election cycles showed that women are good candidates to back, said Kelly Dittmar, CAWP’s director of research. “Women are in these crucial races and crucial positions to determine the balance of power,” she said. “I think at least thus far in the results we’re seeing on the Democratic side, women are key to keeping power.”
Part of the reason representation has stabilized is an increase in woman versus woman races — as was the case for Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria, who lost her race for Virginia’s 2nd District to Republican Jen Kiggans. Twenty-five women senators are slated to serve next year. Nineteen of those women senators were not up for election in 2022. Notable is that two races featured all-women candidates: in Arizona and Oregon. Dittmar and Walsh both agree these types of contests are a sign of progress.
“It’s also a really good reminder that women get to be as diverse in their viewpoints and perspectives, priorities, etcetera, as their male counterparts,” said Dittmar. In these all-women contests, gender isn’t neutralized but rather deployed in different ways, she explained. “We get to see that being a woman candidate, being a woman doesn’t mean the same thing for everybody.”
Read the full story HERE.
Virtual Event on Voting Rights on November 28
11/24/22
Item 6 of our Public Policy Platform is Voting Rights, so this event may be of interest.
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Three Reasons Why Congress Must Pass The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Now
11/15/2022
Workers still are routinely denied the temporary job changes they need to have healthy pregnancies — but a bipartisan bill is poised to provide millions of workers with these protections. Although Congress outlawed pregnancy discrimination in 1978, far too many employers still routinely deny pregnant workers the temporary job modifications they need to keep working and have a healthy pregnancy. These requests for “accommodations” — such as more frequent breaks, schedule changes, and reassignment of hazardous tasks — often are denied to pregnant workers, and can result in severe consequences for their health and financial security. Nobody should have to choose between a healthy pregnancy and a job.
The bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) would outlaw such discrimination and require employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to pregnant workers. The PWFA has never been so close to becoming law. The House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this year, and we’re waiting for the full Senate to take it up for a vote.
1: The PWFA is vital for workers’ health.
2: The PWFA protects families from serious financial hardship.
3: The PWFA will help assure equal opportunity for pregnant workers
Bottom line: No one should be forced to choose between their job and a healthy pregnancy.
The PWFA assures that pregnant workers can keep working, and earning, while also maintaining a healthy pregnancy. Forty years after Congress acted to outlaw pregnancy discrimination, it is long past time for it to assure that workers get the accommodations they need to stay on the job.
Click here for the full article: https://www.aclu-in.org/en/news/three-reasons-why-congress-must-pass-pregnant-workers-fairness-act-now
Getting to Net Zero
11/4/2022
Item 5 of the BPW/FL Public Policy Platform is Environment. Sometimes it is helpful to talk a global view of this issue. Climate change and climate action must be embedded into the purpose of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions that were created decades ago, Alok Sharma, COP26 president, told a seminar on reaching net zero. Meeting the climate goals set under the Paris agreement requires an investment of $3 trillion-$6 trillion per year. But current investment stands at $630 billion—five to ten times less than what is necessary.
“If we do not shift our trajectory this decade, we are cooked,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the seminar, moderated by Spain’s economy minister, Nadia Calviño. Cooperation between global, regional, and national actors is essential to fight climate crises, but nothing is possible without climate financing. As the OECD’s Mathias Cormann said, “Governments alone will not be able to generate necessary investment to secure the transition to net zero. We need substantial private sector investment.”
Click HERE to watch the video.
How Florida has become less voter-friendly.
10/27/2022
Florida ranks 33rd in the nation for voting access, according to the nonpartisan 2022 Cost of Voting Index published in the Election Law Journal.
What’s happening: Some states made voting easier during the COVID-19 pandemic. Others, like Florida, which dropped five slots from 2020, made it more difficult.
Context: The index ranks states by comparing categories like ease of registration, early voting availability, and the hours that polls are open.
State of play: Gov. Ron DeSantis has tightened election rules since 2020. This spring, he created a new statewide law enforcement agency to investigate claims of voter fraud, which announced 20 arrests in August.
- A law he signed last year put new limits on who can collect and drop off ballots, restricted the use of ballot drop boxes, and tightened requirements for non-government groups that hold voter registration drives, among other changes.
Of note: DeSantis signed an order this month extending early voting and mail ballot access through Nov. 8 for voters in three counties hardest hit by Hurricane Ian, NPR reports.
Zoom out: Florida wasn’t the worst state for voting access. New Hampshire ranked last, followed by Mississippi, Arkansas and Wisconsin.
- Oregon, which has automatic voter registration and all-mail voting, is considered the easiest state to vote in.
What they’re saying: Florida’s “new police force may lead to election interference and voter intimidation,” the voting index authors wrote.
- They plan to evaluate its effect on the cost of voting after at least one election cycle.
Get election-ready: It’s too late to register to vote in the Nov. 8 election, but you can still request a vote-by-mail ballot through Saturday. View your sample ballot here.
Source: Axios
Join a virtual discussion on Thursday November 3 12:00-1:15 pm as a panel of experts talk about the critical connection between DEI and health equity, the impact it can have on a company’s bottom line and what employers can do to boost employee satisfaction and move the needle for better health for all employees.
MEET THE EXPERTS
Steve Stowe, VP, Executive Director, Miami Heat Charitable Fund
Rachel Thornton, MC, PHd, FAAP, VP, Chief Health Equity Officer, Nemours Childrens’ Health
Karen Pengra, SVP Total Rewards, Travel + Leisure Group
Dr. Kelli Tice, Guidewell & Florida Blue Chief Health Equity Officer, Florida Blue, Moderator
Click HERE to register (it’s free).
Equity Series | Women with Disabilities: Barriers and Bias in the Workplace
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In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is hosting the next webinar in its Equity Series, which will feature a panel discussion about the barriers and biases women with disabilities face in the workplace. Speakers will share practical strategies to create an equitable workplace, educate others on rights for disabled workers, and address challenges that impact disabled women workers. The webinar will focus on how to help employers achieve diverse and inclusive practices for working women with disabilities.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 | 1–2:30 p.m. ET
Click HERE to watch the recording.
League of Women Voters “Lunch & Learn”
Friday October 21 at 1:00 pm (ET)
Program Centered around Abortion & Reproductive Rights
The League has supported freedom of choice since 1982 and denounces reproductive coercion in any form. Abortion is currently banned after 15 weeks in Florida due to a new law that has gone into effect. Florida requires a pregnant person to visit their abortion provider for in-person counseling and then wait 24 hours before returning to get an abortion. Florida requires a pregnant person to visit their abortion provider for in-person counseling and then wait 24 hours before returning to get an abortion.
You will hear from three esteemed medical experts, Dr. Adriana Cantville, Kelly Flynn and Dr. Nancy Staats, on the facts on abortion in Florida.
Kelly Flynn is the founder, President, and CEO of A Woman’s Choice, Inc. A Woman’s Choice offers quality abortion care in three North Carolina clinics and one clinic in Florida. Kelly opened her first clinic 20 years ago at the age of 25. Kelly is a fierce supporter of bodily autonomy and non-judgmental abortion and reproductive healthcare. She has served as a patient supporter, clinic worker, activist, inspirational speaker, and on national boards serving independent abortion care providers. Like many strong professional woman entrepreneurs, she is a devoted mother, caregiver, and dedicated business owner.
Nancy Staats, MD is a Board-Certified Anesthesiologist originally from Detroit, MI; she attended college and medical school in MI; medical residency training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD; worked as a clinician (hospital and surgery centers) and managed multiple surgery center anesthesia departments both in Baltimore and later in Monmouth County NJ from 1993-2017. She was active with her state medical society (NJSSA) and chaired the PAC there for several years. Staats is married to a pain management physician and has 3 grown children, all residing in Washington, DC.
Dr. Adriana Cantville is a pediatrician in Jacksonville, Florida and is affiliated with UF Health Jacksonville. Adriana received her medical degree from Nova Southeastern University – College of Osteopathic Medicine and has been in practice for more than a decade.
Agenda:
- Presentation: Get the Facts on Abortion in Florida
- Q&A Session with Dr. Adriana Cantville, Kelly Flynn, Dr. Nancy Staats & LWVFL President Cecile Scoon
- LWVFL Updates & News
Click here to watch a recording of the event (S3-E19).
Five Year Anniversary of the #MeToo Movement
Provides an Opportunity to Reflect
10/14/2022
Item 3 (Safe Workplace) of the BPW/FL Public Policy Platform states: “BPW supports legislation that creates a safe workplace; a workplace free from violence, harassment and assault. We support legislative funding and education that will ensure workplaces are free from all forms of violence, harassment and assault.” Anniversaries tend to be a time to reflect, to take stock of the work done and left undone. The #MeToo movement has seen victories and losses in the courtroom, boardrooms, and across institutions from government, to sports, business to media and entertainment. For more insight from Tarana Burke, who started the movement to raise awareness of how common sexual violence is, click HERE.
Supreme Court’s Top Cases for New Term
By The Associated Press, October 1, 2022
The Supreme Court opens its new term Monday, hearing arguments for the first time after a summer break and with new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Already the court has said it will decide cases on a range of major issues including affirmative action, voting rights and the rights of LGBTQ people. The justices will add more cases to their docket in coming months.
Here’s a look at some of the cases the court has already agreed to hear, some of which are related to the BPW/FL Public Policy Platform. The justices are expected to decide each of the cases before taking a summer break at the end of June:
- Affirmative Action
- Voting Rights
- Elections
- Clean Water
- Immigration
- LGBTQ Rights
- Native American Adoption
- Bacon Law Backlash
- Art World
Click HERE for the full article.
Event Playback —
Voter Suppression: A Cancer in Our Body Politic
9/28/2022
Item 6 of our public policy platform focuses on voting rights. Unfortunately, the elimination of many polling places, the cancellation of early voting and the intimidation at the polls of voters and election workers are just a few of the signs of voter suppression that have sprouted in recent years as some members of the electorate attempt to attain or to hold on to power by preventing those they regard as potential opponents from voting.
As the nation gears up for the 2022 midterm elections in November, ClassACT HR73 hosted the forum “Voter Suppression: A Cancer in Our Body Politic” on September 12th, 2022. The forum brought together journalists, activists and experts concerned with election integrity to discuss how repressing voting threatens our democracy.
E.J. Dionne, the renowned Washington Post columnist, moderated a panel that included Congressman Joaquin Castro, Cecile Scoon, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida, Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, and Samuel Spital, the Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.