Jacksonville City Council will enter the fierce battle over abortion access when it decides on council member Reggie Gaffney's proposal for covering up to $4,000 of travel costs for city employees obtaining abortions in other states if such service is not available within 100 miles of their homes.
Gaffney, who is running for a state Senate seat, will ask fellow council members to fast-track a vote on the bill because of the "uncertainty in federal and state law as to reproductive rights at this time," the legislation says.
The U.S. Supreme Court could announce a decision this year on overturning a constitutional right to an abortion, putting the matter into the hands of state legislatures on whether to ban abortions in a state or enact other restrictions.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in April that bans legally permitted abortions after 15 weeks. The tighter window in Florida will make North Carolina the only state in the South that permits abortions after 15 weeks.
The new Florida law goes into effect July 1. The only exceptions allowed after 15 weeks are if the mother is at risk of death, "irreversible physical impairment" or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
State Rep. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, who is running against Gaffney in...
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