Florida fertility doctor speaks out against state’s new 6-week abortion ban

(1 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boca Raton, Florida – 29 April 2024
1. Dr. Leah Roberts entering laboratory at fertility clinic
2. Roberts at microscope
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Leah Roberts, reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist:
++SOUND BEGINS IN SHOT 1 AND ENDS IN SHOT 4++
"We're being told that we have to wait until the mother is septic to be able to intervene. And if a woman gets septic from an incomplete abortion, it can affect their ability to have children in the future. So it can make them completely infertile. It can make them need a hysterectomy.”
4. Close microscope examination ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 6++
5. Laboratory equipment ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 6++
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Leah Roberts, reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist:
++SOUND BEGINS IN SHOT 4 AND ENDS IN SHOT 8++
"Unfortunately, these laws are being written by people who don't really understand medical care, and so they're affecting a larger swath of the population than what they're meant to be affecting. So we're seeing patients who have highly desired pregnancies that are incompatible with life, that are unable to access the care they need."
7. Wide fertility clinic waiting room ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 6++
8. Wide doctor speaking at desk++OVERLAID IN SHOTS 6 AND 10++
9. Photograph in office of doctors and classmates ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 10++
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Leah Roberts, reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist: ++SOUND BEGINS IN SHOT 8 AND ENDS IN SHOT 12++
"I know that there are definitely ObGyn’s who are moving out of state. We're going to have less access to care for our general population, even if it's just basic maternity care and normal ObGyn care because people are leaving. You know, we have this highly, highly educated population who is being told that they can't do their jobs the way they were trained to do so.”
11. Sticker on laptop ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 10++
12. Brochure ++OVERLAID IN SHOTS 10 AND 13++
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Leah Roberts, reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist: ++SOUND BEGINS IN SHOT 12 AND ENDS IN SHOT 16++
"At the end of the day, people who have means, people who have money and resources and time, will fly to Chicago or fly to New Jersey, New York to get their pregnancies terminated. I mean, plain and simple. But we're really going to see a problem with people who have less resources. This is really going to disproportionately affect people of color, people of low socioeconomic status, people who can't take time off work, people who have other children."
14. Office decorations on wall ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 13+
15. Wall decoration with babies ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 13+
16. Sign saying “keep calm and trust your embryologist” ++OVERLAID IN SHOT 13+
STORYLINE:
Florida's ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant, went into effect on Wednesday, and some doctors are concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to needed health care.

The new restrictions join a wave of red state bans following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of a decades-old precedent that protected abortion rights nearly two years ago. The ruling contributed to a disappointing midterm election for Republicans, and Democrats are hoping continued anger over reproductive rights drives their voters to the polls this November.



“We’re being told that we have to wait until the mother is septic to be able to intervene,” Roberts said.






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