Within hours of the start of Florida's legislative session, newly filed bills are set to test the limits on hot-button topics such as abortion and free speech.

Florida's new 15-week abortion ban has yet to be implemented due to litigation, but state Rep. David Borrero, R-Sweetwater, has filed H.B. 1519, which would prohibit any person or entity from purposely performing or attempting to perform an abortion.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, took to social media to express her outrage, calling the move "cruel for the sake of being cruel."

"It is a total abortion ban that eliminates what were already narrow exceptions for rape or incest and also goes further into criminalizing individuals or entities that provide medication abortion by mail, " she implored.

The news comes as a state constitutional amendment that would protect abortion access in Florida received enough signatures of support to appear on ballots in the November election. However, a challenge by the state's attorney general could still block it, claiming the language is misleading.

Another newly filed measure, S.B. 1780, by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, would make it easier for an individual to sue another person for defamation.

Eskamani sees the measure as an attempt to create a penalty for an opinion one doesn't like, which she believes is a slippery slope that could lead to criminalization.

"As long as you're not directly threatening me, there really is not a path forward that I can pursue," Eskamani explained, "and I'm OK with that because I should not be punishing people for expressing a viewpoint I don't like. I don't have to agree with it."

For a successful defamation case, one has to prove "actual malice." A defendant found liable for defamation could be fined at least $35,000. The bill also removes bedrock journalistic privileges, particularly the right to keep sources anonymous. Statements from anonymous sources would be considered "presumptively false," making journalists reporting on discrimination vulnerable to lawsuits.

Tuesday is the final day for lawmakers to file bills, and the legislative session wraps up in early March.


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Abortion care restrictions in North Dakota are expected to be lifted in the near future, following a court ruling on Thursday.

A state judge said North Dakota's ban on the procedure violates the state Constitution. It's been part of a wave of abortion laws stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs case.

Prior to this week's decision, the state's lone abortion provider moved its clinic just across the border to Minnesota.

Dr. Ana Tobiasz, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Bismarck, said physicians in hospital settings had been weighed down by uncertainties about what to do in cases of medical exceptions under the law.

"We have been made to choose between saving a patient's life and possibly facing jail time," Tobiasz explained.

Tobiasz, a plaintiff in the case, said while there are no more abortion clinics in North Dakota, hospitals can at least step in during pregnancy complications without legal ramifications. Advocates said some procedural steps are needed before the ruling goes into effect. North Dakota's attorney general criticized the opinion, vowing to file an appeal.

Groups behind the legal challenge to North Dakota's ban say while Thursday's outcome provides hope, it would be hard to quickly build up a system of abortion care within state boundaries.

Meetra Mehdizadeh, staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in the meantime, women around the state at least have some peace of mind about their reproductive care needs.

"The court has reaffirmed the fundamental right to make personal and private health care decisions without interference from the government," Mehdizadeh asserted.

The Republican-led Legislature reconvenes early next year, and depending on what happens with the expected appeal, the plaintiffs have urged lawmakers to let this week's decision stand. The group North Dakota Right to Life said the judge in this case unilaterally issued a ruling which, in their words, "dismantles critical protections for the unborn and vulnerable women across our state."


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In an unusual set of circumstances, the Nebraska Supreme Court will hear arguments in three lawsuits about the two abortion-related ballot initiatives, each of which had successful petition drives for the November ballot.

The first two lawsuits ask the Nebraska Supreme Court to rule to keep "Protect our Rights," which would legalize abortions until fetal viability, off the ballot. They claim it violates the state's "single subject" rule.

The third suit was filed in response to these on behalf of 29 Nebraska physicians who support Protect Our Rights.

Joshua Livingston, an attorney at the Koenig Dunne law firm in Omaha, which filed the lawsuit, said there are two types of access at stake.

"These physicians spend their days working with Nebraska patients, and they understand what Nebraskans need and what Nebraskans are asking for," Livingston explained. "Over 200,000 Nebraskans signed this petition asking for their voices to be heard. So the goal is access to health care and access to the ballot."

Livingston maintained the only fair outcome would require both initiatives to remain on the ballot or both to be removed. The "Protect Women and Children" initiative would prohibit abortions after the first trimester. The Nebraska legislature passed a 12-week abortion ban in 2023.

Livingston noted their position is that the "single-subject" rule would allow both initiatives to remain on the ballot.

"What we're really seeing is that the opponents to Protect Our Rights, the activist opponents, are scared of what the outcome is going to be," Livingston contended. "They're scared that if Nebraskans have the opportunity to expand abortion health care, they're going to vote in favor of that."

Livingston stressed Nebraska voters' right to be heard is really what is at stake here. He added they hope the Nebraska Supreme Court will rule before the Sept. 13 deadline for Nebraska ballots to be finalized.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, voters in six states have passed constitutional amendments to protect abortion rights.


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The Commonwealth has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, and within the state maternal deaths are twice as high among Black women.

Tamara Wieder, Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said the lack of OBGYN's in the state is part of the problem. Wieder is one of the recipients of this year's Healthy Kentucky Champions Award, given by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, and says legislative efforts such as the Momnibus Bill passed earlier this year will make a huge difference in improving women's outcomes.

"These are nonpartisan bills that we can find common ground on in a state that lacks equitable access to care. We can really have a dialog that brings everybody to the table, and that is something that's really important to me," she said.

The Momnibus Bill adds pregnancy to the list of qualifying life events for health coverage, increasing the odds of women receiving prenatal care; and expands programs that provide free lactation counseling, telehealth assistance, and mental health support for new moms. According to the CDC, more than 80% of maternal deaths are preventable.

Dr. Elizabeth Ottman, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Ohio County Healthcare, said perinatal mental health disorders are the most common complication of pregnancy. Several years ago she launched an innovative program to treat women suffering from postpartum depression with the first FDA-approved drug for the condition. She said the state's efforts to expand broadband access have helped more rural women get help.

"It's allowed us to do more and more telehealth and do meetings with patients to make access easier for them, because it's very difficult when you're depressed to pick up the phone and make an appointment and drive to the doctor. It is super difficult when you're a rural community and you have to drive miles to the doctor with a new baby," she continued.

According to federal data, 76 of Kentucky's 120 counties lack an OBGYN doctor.