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Florida, Indiana Governors Sign Sweeping Anti-Choice Bills

HeadlineMar 28, 2016

Florida Governor Rick Scott has signed a sweeping anti-choice bill that, among other measures, prohibits Medicaid and other public funds from going to clinics that also perform abortions. Planned Parenthood has warned the bill could end birth control, cancer screenings and other services for thousands of low-income Floridians. Nearly half of states have attempted to cut money for Planned Parenthood since last summer, when an anti-choice group released deceptively edited videos to falsely accuse Planned Parenthood of profiting off fetal tissue. The new Florida law also requires abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital or clinics to have a transfer agreement there. Governor Scott signed it the same day a federal judge struck down an admitting privileges law in Alabama, saying it would have a “enormous” impact, closing the only clinics in Alabama’s three largest cities. Meanwhile, a day earlier, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a measure that, beyond requiring admitting privileges for abortion providers, also mandates burial or cremation for fetuses and makes Indiana the second state to ban abortions due to fetal disability.

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