Health
Florida’s Abortion Ban Will Reach Well Beyond Florida
August 2021
Miles to nearest clinic offering abortions after 6 weeks
Source: Caitlin Myers, Middlebury College
As of Wednesday, Florida has banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. It will have far-reaching effects.
In 2021, abortion was legal in every state, and the average American woman lived less than 25 miles from a clinic.
But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some states banned all or most abortions, including many in the South.
Florida, North Carolina and Virginia were the only states in the South offering abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. For 6.4 million women, the nearest clinic was in Florida.
Now, that option is gone. Women in several states will need to travel hundreds of miles farther to reach a clinic.
It is the biggest change to abortion access since the period immediately after the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“This is a seismic event for everyone in the ecosystem,” said Jenny Black, the chief executive of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which operates in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. “It is impossible to overstate the impact of this ban on abortion access in the whole Southeast, probably all up the Eastern Seaboard.”
Florida, unlike much of the South, has long had many abortion clinics — more than 50, spread throughout the state. The average Florida woman lives less than 20 miles from one. Last year, clinics in Florida provided around 86,000 abortions, behind only California, New York and Illinois, according to estimates from the Guttmacher Institute.
Of those, more than 9,000 were for patients who came from other states, part of an influx after many Southern states banned or severely restricted abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
With few exceptions, women across the South who are beyond six weeks of pregnancy — before many women know they’re pregnant — will now have to travel much farther to a clinic for an abortion. Also, for around a decade, Florida has required two appointments 24 hours apart to get an abortion, making it harder to receive one before the six-week mark. In other states, six-week bans have decreased abortions by about half.
“We’re hopeful that not only will the numbers in Florida for abortions take a deep nosedive, but also it does have national implications,” said Andrew Shirvell, the founder and executive director of Florida Voice for the Unborn, a group that lobbied the Legislature for the ban. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has said he does not want the state to remain an “abortion tourism destination.”
Despite bans in 14 states, and restrictions in several others, the number of legal abortions nationwide is about the same as before Roe was overturned. Florida’s new ban could change that, researchers said — an illustration of how regional abortion access has become. Shutting down abortion access in one linchpin state, Florida, could reduce the number of abortions across the entire region, while in swaths of the rest of the country, abortion has remained accessible, and in some places has even become more so.
The maps above show how the distances to the nearest clinic have increased for women in the South who are more than six weeks pregnant, based on data from Caitlin Myers, a professor of economics at Middlebury College, who has been measuring the effects of abortion bans for years.
Women in Miami who are beyond six weeks will now need to travel more than 700 miles to reach the nearest clinics — in Charlotte, N.C., where state law requires two visits spread over three days. The current wait time there is a week or more to get an appointment, according to a recent survey of clinics led by Professor Myers. Otherwise, women would need to travel farther, to clinics in Virginia or Washington, D.C.
Driving distances would also increase by more than 100 miles for women in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Percent of women in the South living less than 100 miles from a clinic offering abortions after 6 weeks Percent of women in the South living more than 300 miles from a clinic offering abortions after 6 weeks
Includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Measurements are for women of reproductive age. Source: Caitlin Myers, Middlebury College
“This is going to be the biggest change to abortion access since Dobbs, and the impact is clear: More people are going to have to travel further distances if they have the financial resources to do so, and many people will be forced to remain pregnant,” said Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro, executive director of Florida Access Network, which helps women in Florida pay for abortions and travel to clinics.
Clinic operators in North Carolina and Virginia say they are trying to expand capacity, but are already struggling to meet demand. Several clinics in those states are already reporting waits of two weeks for appointments, according to Professor Myers’s survey and interviews with clinic staffers.
Decades of research show that, as driving distances to abortion clinics increase, fewer women obtain abortions. The typical seeker of an abortion is poor, and often struggles to arrange transportation, time off from work, housing and child care to travel long distances.
Driving Distances Now
Miles to nearest clinic offering abortions after 6 weeks
Source: Caitlin Myers, Middlebury College
Yet there is uncertainty about the precise long-term effects of the ban. The same day the Florida Supreme Court allowed the six-week limit to go into effect, it also allowed a constitutional amendment on abortion to appear on the November ballot. If the amendment earns the support of 60 percent of voters, it will reverse the ban and protect abortion rights until about 24 weeks.
And in recent months, more women have been ordering abortion pills through telemedicine. This includes women in states with bans, who order from clinicians in states with laws that shield them from out-of-state prosecution.
Such abortions could become more common in the South. But some women are unaware of the option or uncomfortable managing an abortion without a nearby medical provider. Others are too far along in their pregnancies for the option — abortion pills are recommended by the Food and Drug Administration only during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
As a result, telemedicine is unlikely to replace all the abortions currently occurring in Florida. “I don’t think it means that everybody just perfectly substitutes it for traveling to a brick and mortar facility and seeing a provider in person,” Professor Myers said.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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Yoga is known to boost relaxation, strength and flexibility – and now a new study has found the practice could improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.
A randomized trial led by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that a four-week yoga program significantly reduced insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances after cancer treatment.
The findings were presented last week at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.
CANCER SURVIVORS MAY SEE SURPRISING BENEFITS FROM ONE SPECIFIC EXERCISE, STUDY SAYS
The study was conducted across multiple U.S. community cancer care sites, including 410 adult cancer survivors averaging 54 years of age. Around 75% were breast cancer survivors, and none of them had practiced yoga regularly within the prior three months.
A randomized trial led by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that a four-week yoga program significantly reduced insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances in cancer survivors. (iStock)
The participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Half of them received only standard survivorship care without the yoga, while the other half received standard care and were also enrolled in the Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) program.
As part of the YOCAS program, the survivors completed two instructor-led 75-minute yoga sessions each week, including 18 Gentle Hatha yoga and Restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness training.
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Based on questionnaires completed by the patients, the survivors in the yoga group experienced “moderate-to-large” reductions in overall mood disturbance, “small-to-medium” reductions in anxiety and “medium-to-large” reductions in fatigue, the study found.
The improvements in mood and fatigue appeared to be linked to yoga’s beneficial effect on sleep quality, according to the researchers.
As part of the YOCAS program, the survivors completed two instructor-led 75-minute yoga sessions each week, including 18 Gentle Hatha yoga and Restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness training. (iStock)
“This indicates that cancer survivors have an option to alleviate these cancer-related side effects at the same time, without adding another drug,” lead investigator Yuri Choi, PhD, of the Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, in Rochester, New York, told Fox News Digital.
The study did not reveal any major safety concerns or serious adverse events related to the yoga practice.
“This indicates that cancer survivors have an option to alleviate these cancer-related side effects at the same time, without adding another drug.”
The study did have some limitations, chiefly that the findings are preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed for a medical publication.
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“The sample in our clinical trial was relatively homogeneous, with most participants being women (96%), breast cancer patients (75%), Caucasian (93%), and having some college or higher education (82%),” noted Choi.
“We are adapting our intervention to reach all cancer patients and survivors, including the creation of a mobile app to reach people in rural communities.”
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The research also excluded patients with metastatic cancer (whose disease had spread to other parts of the body).
The total study was only four weeks, so more research is needed to determine long-term benefits.
If the findings are confirmed by peer-reviewed publications, this could lead to recommendations for structured yoga programs as a non-drug supportive therapy for cancer survivors, the researchers noted. (iStock)
If the findings are confirmed by peer-reviewed publications, this could lead to recommendations for structured yoga programs as a non-drug supportive therapy for cancer survivors, the researchers noted.
Some yoga studios may use different names for Gentle Hatha and Restorative yoga, such as Foundations Yoga or Healing Yoga, Choi noted.
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“Survivors should also look for certified yoga instructors who have experience working with cancer patients/survivors or individuals with other challenging health conditions,” the researcher advised. “They should not be afraid to ask their oncology team for referrals to qualified instructors in their community.”
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Choi also noted that the research did not reveal whether other types of yoga, such as heated-room or rigorous-flow yoga, are safe or beneficial for cancer survivors.
The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.
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