8 MAY 9-15, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | “hostile environment” where patients need com- passion navigating the process. Her group also works with mental health professionals, chiro- practors, and acupuncturists, with a holistic ap- proach to pregnancy care. “Because it’s midwife- and doula-led and we are centered around reproductive and birth jus- tice, it really is a welcome alternative to people who only have crisis pregnancy centers to turn to,” she tells New Times. “That’s where we’re get- ting a lot of clients coming in who are interested in having care that is centered around their rights, their autonomy, and respect for who they are.” An abortion-rights initiative is on the ballot in the upcoming November general election. If passed by a 60 percent supermajority, the mea- sure will cement abortion rights into the Florida Constitution, blocking the state from prohibiting abortion before fetal viability, similar to the framework established under Roe v. Wade. Conservative groups have vowed to rally sup- port against the amendment. “The abortion amendment which would allow abortion throughout the second and third trimes- ters, eviscerate health protections for women, and remove parental consent, is far too extreme for Florida,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement. Unless the measure passes, abortion clinics and women’s care centers will have to change their healthcare model long-term, with pricing increases and office closures likely under consideration. Guzman tells New Times medical suppliers’ re- cent product price hikes have compounded chal- lenges her clinic now faces. The clinic has been operating for more than 15 years and the network to which it belongs has provided gynecological care in Florida for three decades. Guzman notes that many patients seeking abortions at her clinic have conditions that en- danger them or their pregnancy. “These aren’t just patients who are coming in that didn’t follow their calendar. There are patients who have conditions that won’t let them carry children. They have conditions that can make them sick and have miscarriages,” Guzman says. On May 2, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration clarified through an emergency rule that the treatment of certain life-threatening pregnancy-related medical conditions, such as ectopic pregnancy and premature membrane ruptures, will not be considered “abortions” un- der Florida’s new regulations. The agency claimed there is a “deeply dishon- est scare campaign and disinformation being perpetuated by the media, the Biden Administra- tion, and advocacy groups to misrepresent the Heartbeat Protection Act.” Democratic Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani claimed the rule offers some clarity on emer- gency care for pregnant women but that “health- care should never be politicized like this.” With the new restrictions making it almost im- possible for some women to get an abortion, along with maternity wards closing around the county, Amani fears people will die from un- treated obstetric emergencies and maternal mor- tality rates will only increase. She says more pregnant women will now consider self-managed abortions and seeking abortion medication on- line and by mail. “We are in some uncharted territory right now and the next few months are going to reveal a lot,” Amani tells New Times. [email protected] Clinically Disturbed from p7
