Inhumane six-week abortion ban to continue despite majority of Floridians voting in favor of Amendment 4
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 6, 2024
CONTACT: Lasamee Kettavong, media@napawf.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Amendment 4, a state ballot measure to overturn Florida’s current six-week abortion ban, fell just short of the required 60% of voter support in order to pass. This move would have allowed abortion until viability – approximately 24 weeks into pregnancy.
The ballot measure results follow more than a year of statewide campaigning by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), a collaborative of citizens and allied organizations, including the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), that have been working together to protect Floridians’ access to abortion and ability to make their own personal medical decisions without government interference.
“Although 57% of Florida voters – a clear majority – supported the ability and freedom to make our own reproductive health care decisions, this support ultimately fell short of the 60% threshold needed to undo the restrictive six-week ban,” said May Thach, NAPAWF’s Senior Florida Organizing Manager. “This time limit is unworkable for most people, who often do not even realize they are pregnant. We anticipate that the bulk of this harm will disproportionately be experienced by women of color, immigrants, as well as exacerbate the number of preventable deaths that the abortion ban will cause in the state.”
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women often face a multitude of barriers to abortion care, including lack of language access, low rates of insurance, and income barriers, which have all worsened as abortion has been restricted and banned in more states.
“AAPI women face an uphill climb when trying to access very basic reproductive health care, and abortion bans like Florida’s, have put their lives, health, and economic security at greater risk,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of NAPAWF. “We will continue to amplify the voices of AAPI communities and the impacts of abortion bans on our lives and families until everyone has access to the care they want and need.”
# # #
The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only organization dedicated to uplifting and building power with AAPI women and girls in the US. Employing a reproductive justice framework to guide our work, we use organizing, advocacy, and communications strategies to assert full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.