OPINION

Low-income women hurt by Florida not expanding Medicaid, 15-week abortion ban

Isaac Smith and René Kronlage
Guest columnist

A ban on abortions after 15 weeks takes hold on July 1 and many Floridians will celebrate its application. Unique from other states, the law neither outright bans the procedure nor deputizes citizens for enforcement. 

This moderation, we think, reflects the broad spectrum of political views in our state. Women, after all, will still be able to see their doctors and have the full array of medical options available to them through the first trimester.  

A quick point, though: Medicaid eligibility in Florida excludes adults who are generally healthy. Single mothers need to make less than $6,800 a year in order to qualify. Women on their first pregnancy are eligible, but need to allow up to 30 days for their Medicaid application to process. 

Once that is complete, a pregnant woman should be in the clear to see an OB/GYN. Northern Florida, however, is the front lines for hospital closures. 

Across the country, hospitals have found the cost inherent in covering large regions of uninsured patients to be too high. This is why they have closed at a faster rate in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage. The closures of Campbellton-Graceville Hospital, Regional General Hospital, Shands Live Oak and Shands Lake Shore Regional Medical Centers exemplify a trend of shrinking access most acutely felt in non-expansion states.

Florida legislation banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy drew protests at the state Capitol during the legislative session.

How does this relate to a 15-week abortion ban? Results from the Turnaway Study show that women denied an abortion because they were over the gestational age limit are more likely to be in poverty four years later, less likely to be employed full time and feel less equipped to take care of children they already have. Most importantly, this is in comparison to women who were just on the other side of that term-limit line when at the doctor’s office.   

We fear the combination of not expanding Medicaid and imposing a 15-week restriction will severely affect women throughout Florida and that our region is especially at risk. On July 1 and every day thereafter, a subset of Floridian women will incur divergent and lasting socioeconomic and personal fates because of the 15-week line in the sand. 

The lack of a state public health insurance option for single adults, we feel, increases the likelihood women will be too late for the term limit and experience years of unnecessary hardship.

Isaac Smith and René Kronlage are University of Florida medical students.

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