Florida Abortions Drop Again After New Pro-Life Laws

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jun 5, 2012   |   1:49PM   |   Tallahassee, FL

After the Florida legislature put several new pro-life laws in place, the state has seen a further drop in the number of abortions done.

According to state health department numbers, abortions dropped in Florida 19 percent from 2008-2011 and the decline continues. With the legislature approving a bill that allows women to see an ultrasound of their baby before an abortion, more minds are apparently changing. Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill after it had been vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist the year before.

There were 95,375 abortions in Florida in 2008, according to the state health department and that total dropped to 77,166 in 2011. Now, the state Agency for Health Care Administration reports 28,023 abortions so far this year — which is off the pace from 2011.

Helping drive down abortion numbers further is the fact that the number of abortion facilities is dwindling — with 30 percent having closed since 2005 and the number dropping to 70 abortion facilities across the state, Sunshine State News indicates.

This year has been a case of good news and bad news for pro-life advocates in Florida.

Last month, Planned Parenthood opened a new abortion business in southern Florida’s Palm Beach County, with the new center holding its grand opening in the Wellington Professional Center. The new location is the only one Planned Parenthood operates in the area that will do surgical abortions.

The Palm Beach Post reports that the abortion business will close its Lake Worth office in the next couple of months and picked the Wellington location because it is a hub for legitimate medical services and the local population is growing.

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News of the new abortion business in the Palm Beach area follows reports that an abortion practitioner in Orlando has called it quits. Florida abortion practitioner Scott Spagnolo-Hye hung up his forceps this month and stopped doing abortions.

The Orlando, Florida-based abortion practitioner revealed in a videotaped conversation that June 2 was the last day he did abortions in the central Florida city. Jill Stanek uncovered the video showing him speaking to a local pro-life advocate, one of many who have protested at his four abortion centers.

“June 2 is my last day,” Spagnolo-Hye said, and he added that he would be shifting to family practice medicine.