Dozens of women turned away at Northeast Florida abortion clinics with 6-week ban in place

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Abortion clinics across Northeast Florida have turned away women seeking the procedure with the state’s new six-week ban firmly in place.

During the last 72 hours, many health centers said they’ve had tough conversations, canceling previously scheduled appointments, and telling women they cannot help.

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Prior to Florida’s six-week ban, the Jacksonville Planned Parenthood saw women coming from states that already had a six-week restriction in place or outright bans of the procedure. Now, it has had to turn away forty women in just the last two days.

“It’s insanely difficult to have to turn somebody away,” Morgan Daniel said. That’s just not the nature of Planned Parenthood. We care no matter what, and the laws in Florida don’t allow us to do that.”

Morgan Daniel has worked for Planned Parenthood for six years. She said one year ago when bans started to come into play across the country, the Jacksonville Planned Parenthood restroom became a place for words of encouragement.

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“It started with the changing table,” Daniel said.

Someone took a Sharpie marker and shared a message for the next person who walked inside.

“It just started to grow. I mean there’s over 100 messages on the wall by now,” Daniel said.

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Some of the messages said, “Don’t feel guilty,” “You’re going to be okay,” and “Make the decision that’s best for you.”

It showed women supporting women during what some may say is the toughest decision to make. The center served as a safe haven for those seeking an abortion, especially women from states where the procedure was banned or heavily restricted. Now, Florida joins the list.

“It’s definitely not a safe haven,” Daniel said. “This impacts Floridians tremendously, and it impacts the people of neighboring states as well. Florida was the closest state and now it’s not anymore.”

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The next closest state to legally get an abortion if you are more than six weeks pregnant is North Carolina. It’s 461 miles from the Jacksonville Planned Parenthood and about a six-and-a-half-hour car ride.

“They’re just sad,” Daniel said. “They’re frustrated. They need to know what to do from here.”

Planned Parenthood has a Patient Navigation system. It assists in helping women travel outside of the state. There is also a list of resources for patients on their website.

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Words of encouragement Jacksonville Planned Parenthood restroom becomes a place for words of encouragement. (WJAX)

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