Gainesville could soon not investigate pregnancy outcomes, cover expenses for abortion
Gainesville leaders are promising to not use any taxpayers' money to investigate abortions and soon could cover travel and medical costs for employees who choose to have one under a new proposal floated this week.
Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos, who first pitched the idea, said the move is a response to the Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson that “stripped away the constitutional right to get an abortion" for women.
The Gainesville City Commission on Thursday unanimously asked its staff to draft a city policy that would ensure employees are given the right to travel to areas where they can receive an abortion at no added cost to them, just as they could have before recent changes in Florida law. Abortions will also be considered the lowest priority for Gainesville police.
"With the recent decision by the Supreme Court and the continued attacks on women's reproductive rights by the state of Florida, we need to do everything we can do to protect reproductive rights for our neighbors," Hayes-Santos said.
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In June, Florida enacted a ban on abortions more than 15 weeks from conception. The ban was later ruled unconstitutional by a judge, placing a temporary hold on the change.
Other nearby states have also placed additional hurdles in place for women seeking an abortion. In Georgia, women can no longer have an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy
Gainesville's proposed policy to not investigate abortions is similar to one passed in Austin, Texas, known as the "Guarding the Right to Abortion Care for Everyone" (GRACE) Act.
Though travel and medical expenses are covered, Gainesville officials say no taxpayer dollars will be used to investigate abortion procedures or pregnancy outcomes. Hayes-Santos went further, saying he doesn't even want the city to share that information with the state to ensure women are protected.
Gainesville City Attorney Daniel Nee expressed concern that the policy may undermine city policy by dictating priorities for law enforcement.
"I don’t know that you can have a resolution that is going to be binding upon the budgetary decisions of future commissions," Nee said. "It all sounds like an advocacy-type resolution, which I think is perfectly appropriate."
Hayes-Santos, however, says an "advocacy resolution" would mean nothing and that the city needs to take real action.
Mayor Lauren Poe questioned whether the proposal would get challenged in court and asked staff thoroughly research the issue before bringing it back for a vote.
"I think that is important to answer (the questions) for when this gets challenged because it will," Poe said. "There are large budgets with organizations out there that will challenge this.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville employees getting abortions could soon have costs covered
