The lives of American women have undergone a dramatic transformation between 1920 and 2025. Since the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, women have made significant advancements in their rights, opportunities, and societal expectations. They have made enormous progress in education, employment, and representation in all sectors of American society.
Despite these advances, full equality and economic opportunity for women will only come when voters demand that policies keep pace with women’s roles in society and ensure their freedom to make their own personal reproductive healthcare decisions, free of government intrusion.
Today, women are increasingly the chief breadwinners for their families. Multiple factors have contributed to women’s advances, but one stands out among the rest – access to reproductive healthcare. According to the National Women’s Law Center, there is a demonstrated link between increased lifetime earnings and the ability of women to plan and space their pregnancies.
Reproductive healthcare encompasses the full spectrum of care – from contraception, to fertility treatment, to maternity care, and, when needed, access to appropriate medical services when a decision is made to terminate a pregnancy.
As we celebrate Women’s Equality Day on August 26 and the passage of the 19th Amendment, Conservative Women for Freedom, the League of Women Voters, and the Women’s Resource Center reaffirm that a woman’s right to self-determination and access to reproductive healthcare is essential for a functioning democracy.
Unfortunately, these fundamental rights are disregarded by Florida legislators, despite the impact on women's capacity to make their own informed decisions and choices, free from external constraints or coercion, particularly concerning their bodies, health, and life circumstances.
As of 2024, abortions in Florida are banned at six weeks, when most women don't even know they are pregnant. The new law leads to delays and denials of care for women needing miscarriage management or the termination of a pregnancy due to a non-viable fetus. Florida law forces physicians to second-guess their education, training, and experience in order to avoid possible criminal prosecution for treating their patients.
The state's abortion ban also has implications for Florida's labor market and economic growth. A nationwide survey conducted by Morning Consult reports that more than one-third of adults say that abortion bans, a lack of OB/GYN care, and low access to prenatal care and contraception would make them less likely to accept a job that required relocating to a new state.
In 2024, more than 57% of Floridians voted for a constitutional amendment to guarantee access to abortion care. Though approved by a clear majority, the amendment didn't pass because the state requires a 60% threshold to amend the state's constitution.
We, the people, must hold our state legislators accountable and take action. We must overturn the six-week abortion ban, while in the short term, demand greater clarity in the law to help physicians provide the best quality medical care. We must insist on age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education in schools so young people have the knowledge to prevent pregnancies. We need to block any bills granting a fetus “personhood” status, which will threaten IVF and fertility treatment. We need the state to enhance access to healthcare in rural and underserved communities, including helping qualified patients enroll in Medicaid to help them pay for contraception and maternity care.
In the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, "The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman's life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When Government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices."
The freedom to make personal reproductive healthcare decisions, along with education and civic participation, is what we must continue to strive for on Women's Equality Day and the other 364 days of each year.
Jaymie Carter, Co-Founder
Carol Whitmore, Co-Founder and Holmes Beach Commissioner
Conservative Women for Freedom
Terri Kondos, Vice President
League of Women Voters-Manatee County
Vilia Johnson and Rhonda Peters, Co-Presidents
League of Women Voters-Sarasota County
Ashley Brown, President & CEO
Women's Resource Center
As we commemorate the 19th Amendment, the Women’s Resource Center is partnering with the Leagues of Women Voters of Sarasota and Manatee counties to host an Equality Day Breakfast on Monday, August 26, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. at WRC’s Sarasota location. This free event features a community conversation with guest panelists and a continental breakfast. Space is limited and registration is required at www.mywrc.org/equalityday.
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Cat L
It's frustrating that desantis has cancelled advanced placement women's studies statewide. (As well as black studies and funding for art) That's where you learn how many women in history died in poverty, were abused physically or financially, were traded like property and disregarded in every possible way.
Three generations of my family are leaving Florida this fall, because restricting women's freedoms and then calling Florida "the freedom state" is insulting.
My niece will grow up with her freedoms intact.
Sunday, August 24, 2025 Report this