​Representative Lois Frankel to Speak Out in Support of Women’s Health Protection Act at Florida Press Conference

(Media Advisory) Representative Lois Frankel (D-FL) will be joined by state Representative Lori Berman and women’s health advocates today in West Palm Beach, Florida to call for Governor Rick Scott’s veto of recently passed measure which severely restricts access to safe and legal abortion.  Representative Frankel will also call for support of the Women’s Health Protection Act—a federal bill which would defend access to safe, legal, essential reproductive health care and the constitutional rights of every woman in the United States, regardless of where she happens to live.  This event comes days after Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz also called for support of the Women’s Health Protection Act and a veto of the Florida measure in Fort Lauderdale late last month.

Details

Press Conference with Representative Lois Frankel

Confirmed Speakers:

Representative Lois Frankel

State Representative Lori Berman

Mona Reis, Founder and CEO of Presidential Women’s Center

Representatives from Planned Parenthood and the American Association of University Women (AAUW)

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 10AM EST

West Palm Beach Federal Courthouse

701 Clematis Street #202

West Palm Beach, FL

Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“As politicians in Florida attack women’s rights and access to safe and legal abortion care, Representative Frankel is witnessing firsthand the dire need for the Women’s Health Protection Act.  Constitutional protections should never vary from state to state and Florida women deserve the very same rights as women in the rest of the U.S.”     

“In calling for Florida Governor Rick Scott to veto his state’s mandatory delay bill, Representative Frankel is once again showing bold leadership and her deep commitment to women’s reproductive rights.  We stand with her in her efforts to ensure that women in all fifty states enjoy the same strong protections of their rights and freedoms.” 

Background

On Friday, April 24, 2015, the Florida Senate passed a measure which forces a woman to wait 24 hours and make two separate trips before she is able to obtain a safe and legal abortion.  The Senate vote came just two days after the Florida House passed the same measure. 

Harmful restrictions like these further underscore the need for the federal Women’s Health Protection Act (S. 217/HR. 448)—a bill that would prohibit states like Florida from imposing restrictions on reproductive health care providers that apply to no similar medical care, interfere with women’s personal decision making, and block access to safe and legal abortion services.​