Friday, 6/7, 8:30AM - Reproductive Rights Action Team Meeting. Click register for the Reproductive Rights Action Team Meeting..

For more information, email Alice Newlon, Co-President

Wednesday, 6/12, 4:00 PM - LWVMC Board Meeting

All are welcome! Click here to join the Board Meeting

Tuesday, 6/18, 4:00PM - Education Action Team Meeting.   Click here to join the Education Action Team Meeting. For more information, email Education Chair, Merrie Lynn Parker.

Monday, 6/24, 4:00PM Social Issues Action Team Meeting - Click here to join the Social Issues Team Meeting.

Wednesday, 6/26, 5:00PM Voter Services Action Team Meeting - Click here to register for the Voter Services Team Meeting, email VS Chair Terri Kondos

Note: Government and Natural Resources Action Teams are not meeting in June

Why Do We Wear Orange? 

By Ginger McCallum

In 2013, a teenager named Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. The idea caught on and now thousands of Americans wear the color orange the first weekend of June every year to honor Hadiya and all victims, survivors, and those affected by gun violence in the United States.

In Florida, more than 3000 people die by gunfire annually; 61% of them are suicide. Veterans, who are at greater risk of suicide than the general public, use a firearm 71% of the time for this purpose. Additional statistics about gun violence in the United States include:

• Gunfire is the leading cause of death for children and teens (CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7250a1.htm)
• 4.6 million children live in a home with a loaded and unlocked firearm
• Black Americans are 12 times more likely to die by gun homicide than white Americans
• Access to a gun triples the risk of suicide
• More than 70 women are killed daily by an intimate partner using a gun
• Nearly 5,000 Latinx people are killed annually by gun violence
• 25,000 hate crimes per year involve a firearm
• At least one firearm is stolen from a car every nine minutes. Cars parked at residences (in driveways, outside homes, etc.) are the most common source of stolen guns; these stolen guns are often used in other crimes.

*Unless otherwise noted, Statistics from www.everystat.org, www.everytownresearch.org, www.wearorange.org

Wearing orange is a visible expression of solidarity with victims and survivors of gun violence. It serves as a reminder that behind every statistic is a human being with a name, a story, and loved ones left behind to mourn their loss. By wearing orange the first weekend in June, individuals demonstrate their commitment to advocating for policies that promote gun safety, such as universal background checks, safe storage laws, and investments in community-based violence prevention programs.

The symbolism of orange extends beyond advocacy to encompass a vision of a future free from the fear of gun violence. It represents a collective aspiration for safer communities where children can grow up without the constant threat of firearms. This vision is not merely idealistic; it is achievable through a combination of legislative action, grassroots organizing, and cultural change.

We deserve to live in a country where firearms are NOT the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States. But as incidents of gun violence have grown, so too has the movement to stop it. We know that gun violence is preventable and we can work to make our community safer for everyone.

Wear orange on Friday June 7^th and encourage your loved ones to do the same, as we honor gun violence victims and spread awareness about safety and prevention. Together we can build a future free from gun violence.

Sign up to attend a Wear Orange rally at the Ringling Bridge, Saturday June 7, 8-9 pm

Non-Partisan Group Supporting Home Rule for Anna Maria Island

"Save Florida Home Rule" is a grass roots non-partisan group founded to promote preservation/restoration of home rule in Florida, to prevent the passage of a Florida statute by the 2025 legislature to consolidate or dissolve the cities of Anna Maria Island and to obtain a copy of the OPPAGA study due in June/July. The OPPAGA study was commissioned by the Florida legislature as a basis for considering consolidation or dissolution of the three island cities.

The group opposes consolidation of AMI cities into one island city or the dissolution of AMI cities and take over by either Bradenton or Manatee County.  They believe that consolidation or take-over of the island cities will destroy the beauty of Anna Maria Island, ultimately leading to changes in zoning to build high-rises, and will pave the way for the identity of other Florida cities to be hijacked. More broadly they oppose further preemption of home rule in Florida.

Save Florida Home Rule Petition (lwvmanatee.org)

Abortion Bans' Impact on OB/GYNs and Their Medical Practice

In a Journal of the American Medical Association study titled “US Obstetrician-Gynecologists' Perceived Impacts of Post–Dobbs v Jackson State Abortion Bans", they found significant and alarming clinical and personal impacts in states with abortion bans.

The objective of the study was to find the “perceptions of the impact of abortion restrictions on clinical practice, moral distress, mental health, and turnover intention among US OB-GYNs practicing in states with functional bans on abortion”. Participants in this study were 54 OB-GYNs from 13 states with abortion bans.

Below are excerpts from study with much of the detailed content missing. We invite you to read the entire study.

Clinical Impacts

Delayed Care

Many participants described needing to delay medically necessary care until patients were at risk of death or permanent impairment, or the fetal heart stopped spontaneously. Clinically inappropriate delays, and their consequences occurred during middle-of-the-night emergencies when calls to legal teams for clearance to proceed went unanswered.

Counseling Restrictions

Due to aiding and abetting clauses, some participants were informed by their institution that they could not provide referrals for abortions or discuss abortion as an option. Many described such limits on counseling as the laws’ most damaging parts, calling these restrictions an affront to their medical expertise and to patient autonomy.

Inability to Provide Care

In the absence of counseling restrictions, participants could accurately describe care options, but these options were functionally unavailable to many patients,: “[It’s] incredibly frustrating because it’s care and services that I am capable of providing to people and that are not unsafe or hard.” This was especially true for participants with a high proportion of low-income, Medicaid-insured patients who could not afford to travel out of state.

Many shared the difficulty of being unable to care for their patients “on probably the worst day of their life.” Those unable to provide care for unstable or high-risk patients at their own institutions described spending hours orchestrating hospital or inter-state transfer, cutting into time with other patients or their own families. Even after extensive time spent arranging handoffs, they feared poor outcomes.

Personal Impacts

Moral Distress

Ninety three percent reported situations in which they or their colleagues could not follow clinical standards due to legal constraints. When describing their moral distress over such encounters, participants used words like muzzled, handcuffed, and straitjacketed.

Perceived Consequences of Violating State Law

Most participants (87%) reported worries about practicing in an uncertain legal climate. Fears centered on potential for criminal prosecution, loss of medical license, loss of income, or incarceration. A few retained private criminal defense attorneys at their own expense, fearing inadequate representation by their institution.

Leaving the State

Six participants (11%) had moved their practices to states with stronger abortion protections. In contrast, some felt galvanized to stay. One explained, “I’ve thought so many times about leaving but I’m only 1 of 3 people, really, in this state who can take care of a patient who is possibly dying from their pregnancy. And that makes me want to stay.” As colleagues moved away, those who remained described shouldering increased burdens of clinical care and declining morale as colleagues moved away.

Mental Health

Most participants (38 [70%]) reported symptoms of anxiety and depression as a direct consequence of Dobbs v Jackson. Although men accounted for 19% of the overall sample (10 participants), they represented 38% of participants (6 of 16) reporting no mental health impacts.

The Florida 6 week abortion ban went into effect on May 1, 2024, which is a near total ban. Florida will experience the same impacts as noted in the above study. The only way reverse the exodus of OB/GYNS and restore clinically appropriate medical care in Florida is the passage of Amendment 4 in November. Email info@lwvmantee.org learn what you can do to support this effort.

Don't let the name fool you. EVERYONE is welcome.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local, state, and national levels.