Will Republican politicians change their tune on abortion if 2024 elections result in a huge blue wave?

Doubtful. Most Republicans are, to some degree at least, religious zealots.

I would think a health care professional would be hesitant to perform an abortion, even if it’s within the 15 week window and even if the mother’s life is in danger, because the health care professional wouldn’t want to be put in a defensive position where they have to justify their actions, and if they don’t do a good job justifying it or someone (politician) deems it not to be worthy, the professional risks being imprisoned.

@jca2 Agree!

I doubt it. I think they have convinced themselves that theirs is the moral and proper stance (until their mistresses get pregnant).

I don’t have any idea if DeSantis was conflicted, but there are major barriers to obtaining abortions in FL. I am under the impression that the example you provide is a widespread issue. Not to mention that the state will require proof of rape/incest, which many (most?) cannot provide. You still have to wait 24 hours (which is actually longer than 24 hours as you have to have an in-person appointment at the clinic and then return >= 24 hours later; and even longer if you experienced rape/incest as you’d have to spend several hours first undergoing a rape exam and report the crime) and have to have an ultrasound at the abortion facility, etc.

@Cupcake With this 6 week law I think abortions are about to become a major widespread problem in Florida. The 15 week shouldn’t have been a big problem, most abortions are done before 15 weeks, but I really think the reporting in a lot of the media when the 15 week was first done hurt women, because I think most of the reporting mislead people (including doctors).

Florida before this 6 week thing did a lot of abortions and has a lot of places to get abortions. Now, that will all change.

I think DeSantis is a political animal and his only conflict might be weighing what’s best for him politically on the issue, although I am grateful Florida includes life of the mother and fetal abnormalities after 15 weeks in the law. Now, that would be after 6 weeks. Although, if doctors are worried about jail time the actual law might not matter as we know from history.

@Cupcake Why would an ultrasound be done regarding pregnancy immediately after a rape? I think in Florida they probably still offer rape victims the morning after pill except at Catholic hospitals maybe? Luckily, a lot of Florida hospitals are not religious hospitals.

The abortion stance by the GOP isn’t about the precious life of babies. If it was, they would support welfare and food stamps. It is about campaign dollars and votes. If they don’t have the support at the polls, they will have to find another angle.

Highly doubtful and the party like to make every topic a partisan discussion. This is where politics go wrong.

No more than if democrats will change their tune In the event of a huge red wave.

No. the elections told them Repo party last year and and 2020 that their messaging was wrong and that they were going to lose. They ignored the analysis and forged ahead with their nativist hateful messages.

I see absolutely to chance of republicans changing their ideas or messaging this time around – they have to keep their ‘base’ happy, and that means they don’t care if they win elections – just that they keep people contributing $$$.

Oh no. They love God more than they hate Democrats ha! And a blue wave in this economy is doubtful.

Apparently it’s definitely a concern within the Republican party:

https://www.aol.com/news/abortion-bans-raise-fears-inside-084418964.html

No, they would intensify their voter suppression and election interference efforts.
They are already saying that anyone under 25 should not be allowed to vote.

If the GOP has great losses at the 2024 elections, they will pull out their hero’s claim of “STOP THE STEAL ! ! . . . and get money sent to them by their base.

@jca2 After reading your article I wonder if the courts will be able to stop the six week ban. When DeSantis signed the fifteen week ban I didn’t think the courts would stop it. Six weeks I would be more hopeful. That gives DeSantis the ability to say he tried to go stricter, but the courts can save Florida.

I would say in Florida no matter what we have the problem of the Republicans currently having a stronghold so a lot of doctors are afraid or not up-to-date on current law.

I should mention a lot judges are part of the federalist society in Florida. It’s a problem.

Some doctors are leaving states because of abortion laws changes, that means few OB/GYN doctors for all women’s health. What happens next may impact their daughters or grand-daughters.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/26/us-abortion-ban-providers-doctors-leaving-states

I would not think so. The democrats and politicians see and use abortion as a political thing. Conservatives see it as a moral issue. Those are two very different realities.

I think the question is how many Republican politicians actually feel it is a moral and religious issue for themselves, and how many just say that to pander to the base, and how many are worried about how extreme laws risk the live’s of women. Letting women suffer and die is immoral too. It is for some people anyway.

Most pro-life Republicans that I know don’t believe women won’t be taken care of, they think its Liberal misinformation and scare tactics by Democrats.

@jleslie Ultrasounds are required prior to all abortions in FL. Just another administrative requirement to take up time and expense so that people don’t (or can’t) follow through.

@Cupcake Not according to this: https://m.ufhealth.org/emergency-contraception This says anyone can buy the morning after pill in FL without a script.

Edit: specifically talking about rape and being treated immediately to prevent pregnancy. I agree Florida has an ultrasound requirement for abortions and a waiting period. If it’s the woman’s GYN they can skip a lot of the bullshit I would think.

It is not a “moral” issue to republicans. It is a control-over-women issue.

That is a goofy comment, or I should say, another goofy comment.

The morning after pill is not an abortion. People who were raped or experienced sexual violence that led to pregnancy are required to have an ultrasound to have an abortion, that was my only point. It is one of many administrative requirements that prevent people from getting abortions.

When I shadowed at Planned Parenthood several years ago, I learned that even though state-issued health insurance will pay for abortions due to sexual violence, it was rarely, if ever, done because the administrative requirements were too stringent and time-consuming (e.g., maintaining chain of command of evidence, etc.). Meaning that people who were pregnant from sexual violence most often could not access public funds for their abortions, even though that was the law. There are dozens of other barriers like this.

@JLeslie I am not aware of GYN offices that are allowed to perform abortions in FL. I believe, and briefly perused the law about it, that abortions need to be performed in an outpatient clinic with a certain license and meeting specific building requirements and the physician conducting the procedure has to have hospital admitting privileges. With the new restrictions, OB-GYN residents will not be trained in second trimester abortions. So even if one becomes required to save the life of the mother, there may not be anyone trained to do such a procedure. People considering a career in reproductive medicine are being encouraged to not attend medical school, residencies, or fellowships within FL.

My emotions about this topic run high as someone who was pregnant due to sexual violence as a young teen and now studies reproductive health and healthcare access.

@Cupcake Medical abortions are not performed, it is just a prescription. I don’t see why a doctor can’t prescribe the meds? Maybe there is some sort of law about it that I don’t know.

As far as surgical abortions, I don’t know if a OBGYN can do them. I think most OBGYN’s can do D&C’s, but maybe I am wrong. I don’t know about Florida, but in New York some hospitals do abortions regularly, it is not just done at clinics. I know Florida is cracking down on reporting, so I’m right with you that it is getting more complicated for doctors and women in the state of Florida.

I’m thinking of the women who may be a month or two pregnant and have scheduled an abortion already, and now can’t have it and who may not be able to find a clinic in another state and travel there because they can’t afford the trip. What a life altering decision that DeSantis has made for those women.

@jca2 bet you they remember, next year.

I just wanted to clarify the reason I brought up the morning after pill and questioned the ultrasound, was because a rape kit was mentioned. Rape kits are usually the day of the attack. The women are usually given or at least offered drugs to prevent pregnancy and disease.

@jca2 Does the law go into effect the day it’s signed? I agree it might result in some women having to quickly change existing plans, or have to decide whether to abort faster than they wanted to make the decision, which is horrible.

@JLeslie You have to follow all the same procedures to have a medical or surgical abortion (e.g., make appointment, confirm pregnancy, sign paperwork, return >=24 hours later, obtain ultrasound, etc.). With medical, you are monitored taking the first dose and take the rest of the medication and administration instructions home.

The surgical abortions are performed by MDs with training, most often OB-GYNs. Training on performing abortions is becoming more difficult to obtain in states with anti-abortion laws (which endangers all people capable of reproduction).

I used to work in a hospital in NY and abortions were performed there (and I believe outpatient in doctor offices), but I don’t believe that is the case in FL. Perhaps with the exception of a person who is admitted to the hospital and their life is endangered, but again, that is becoming more and more challenging as healthcare professionals fear punitive measures.

To clarify again about rape – most rapes are not reported the day of (most are not reported at all) and not everyone is offered (or willing to take) the morning after pills. For example, many people erroneously believe that Plan B is an abortifacient and some still erroneously believe it is not possible to become pregnant from rape.

@JLeslie I don’t know when the law goes into effect but the problem is that abortion providers are already booked, so it’s not a matter of just getting an abortion sooner, it’s a matter of finding an available provider.

The New Yorker had an article a few weeks ago about a 15 year old girl in Texas who was pregnant, and the hoops her family had to jump through to drive her to another state to get an abortion, taking their other two children with them because they couldn’t leave the kids home alone and they had nobody to watch them for days at a time (plus the expense of that), so they packed up the whole family and had to drive somewehre else (time off work for the parents, too – a huge expense all in all).

@jca2 The Florida six-week law will not go into effect until the state supreme court decides an issue in a current lawsuit regarding the 15-week present law. Women who had already scheduled have plenty of time now to kill that baby before the law takes effect.

@Cupcake Oh, of course not all rapes are reported that day, and many never are, so no argument from me there. I only brought up the morning after pill regarding women who are having a rape kit done. Rape kits are usually done if the rape is reported right away.

I promise you every time Florida has had an abortion issue on the ballot to inhibit a woman’s freedom to abort I have voted against it. Parental consent, and whatever else. I’ve been trying my entire voting life to stop the pro-lifers from taking away access to abortion. They kept chipping away for as long as I can remember.

Setting aside women who just choose to not be pregnant, it has always terrified me that women who NEED to terminate their pregnancy or hasten a failing pregnancy won’t be taken care of.

This sounds horrible, but maybe things will change when very attractive Republican couples have some really bad things happen and speak out. I remember when HIV was first around a wealthy woman, I don’t remember her name, got AIDS and put a heterosexual female face on the disease.

@JLeslie But they often don’t speak out. They just privately pay for their own procedures. Even a Duggar daughter had an abortion, although it was cloaked in other language. Of course they are not now pro-abortion, even though they benefitted from the procedure themselves.

I’m angry that even with a 15 week ban (which is wholly unethical given that anatomic scans are often performed at 20 weeks) many pregnant people cannot access life-saving medical care. They speak as though they are pro-life, but never for the lives of the mother nor for the babies once they are born. It is traumatic and potentially dangerous to carry a fetus that will not live, is unwanted, etc. These laws are a dystopian hell. Utter hell.

@Cupcake

“It is traumatic and potentially dangerous to carry a fetus that will not live, is unwanted, etc. These laws are a dystopian hell. Utter hell.”

I agree.

Lots of unwanted children, with unlimited access to guns- what could go wrong? ~ ~

@SnipSnip That’s good, because I’m all for women having that right.

@Brian1946 Actually, @Cupcake in her last post is also talking about pregnancies that don’t result in children. That’s the one that gets me the most. The pro-life people don’t understand that the pro-choice movement kept these procedures safe for the pro-lifers.

If they suffer huge loses in 2024
and it comes to light that their draconian views on abortion was the reason they would change their stance on it, but we will just have to wait and see.

@SQUEEKY2 It should (if not blocked) be on the Missouri ballot in 2024 for the people to decide. As it should be.

If we truly have a Blue Wave in 2024, I’m not sure the Republican party is going to exist anymore. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen. But also, if we do have a strong blue wave, I think laws are going to be put in place that will prevent States coming up with these ridiculous laws.