Student Action is Key to Stopping an Abortion Ban Florida

My name is Alanna Felton, and I am the president of Planned Parenthood: Generation Action at Florida State University. We are an official student volunteer group affiliated with Planned Parenthood who advocate for reproductive justice.

The 2022 legislative session is coming up, and our state legislators have made it clear where their priorities stand— with restricting bodily autonomy and stripping away healthcare from millions of Floridians instead of ACTUALLY protecting life.

Representative Barnaby has introduced Florida’s own version of the Texas anti-abortion bill, HB 167. This bill bans abortion after six weeks, which to be clear, is not six weeks after being pregnant, it’s six weeks after your last period, so two weeks after a missed period, at which point many people have no idea they are pregnant.

If that wasn’t terrible enough, like the Texas bill, HB-167 allows private citizens to sue ANYONE suspected of aiding a pregnant person in obtaining an abortion after 6 weeks. The bill’s language is so vague that even a rideshare driver could be sued for transporting someone to their abortion.

This bill would harm countless Floridians, especially students. As college students, we already struggle with balancing school, work, and a social life. Imagine in that chaos, not noticing your period is a couple weeks late, then learning it’s already too late to end the pregnancy. That’s a life changing situation that no one should be forced to endure.

HB-167 CANNOT pass, and we need your help to make sure that happens. Call and email your state representatives and tell them to vote no HB-167. Spread the word about this bill to your family and friends, let them know how high the stakes are. Support the Florida access network, a local abortion fund to help those who need it most access care.

In 2022, Planned Parenthood will be fighting HB-167 and likely other terrible anti-abortion bill. The capitol is just a few blocks away from FSU’s campus, students in Tallahassee must take advantage of this proximity to our representatives. We need you to show up and make your voices heard; to declare “No abortion bans in Florida!”

Here are ways you can get involved:

• Sign up to get action alerts to your email or cellphone
• Find the Gen Action student group on your campus
• Follow Florida Planned Parenthood on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok

We must hold our legislators accountable. We must call out the hypocrisy of anti-abortion politicians who call themselves on pro-life while refusing to support pandemic policies that would preserve the lives of Floridians. COVID is still ravaging our state while they politicize life-saving measures such as vaccination and masks.

It must stop. We can do it together!