Press Review of the Americas

In the News: Abortion heavily restricted in Florida

A crowd demonstrates in support of abortion, April 13, 2023 in Florida. © AP/Alicia Devine

Text by: Margaux Ratayzyk

3 min

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Florida is tightening the noose around abortion rights. Ron DeSantis, the governor of this conservative southeastern US state, signed a bill Thursday banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. This restriction does not apply to cases of rape, incest, serious risk to the health of the mother or lethal abnormality of the foetus. However, the Supreme Court still has to rule before the law comes into force.

According to The New Republic, Florida was one of the "last abortion havens in the South." Thus, Americans claiming to be "pro-life", in other words anti-abortion, welcome this passage from 15 to six weeks of pregnancy as a deadline for abortion. In the Orlando Sentinel, an op-ed by an anti-abortion activist speaks of "laws to protect babies whose hearts are beating." According to the activist, this is a "victory for the Sunshine State", Florida's nickname.

Democrats still mobilized

For their part, elected officials who defend abortion rights in Florida do not intend to give up. USA Today quotes Democrat Anna Eskamani, a former Planned Parenthood employee: "I want people watching right now to know that there are people fighting for them. We[Democrats] will make sure that people always have access to care, and that means if you have to go somewhere else, we'll find ways to help you.

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Suspect arrested after leaking confidential documents to US

U.S. investigators have gotten their hands on the suspect who is believed to be behind the leaks of classified documents from the Department of Defense. Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested Thursday in the state of Massachusetts. Presented Friday in federal court in Boston, the young man was charged with "unauthorized retention and transmission of information relating to national defense," and "unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials," according to a court document.

This scandal is the biggest leak of confidential documents the country has seen since the Snowden affair ten years ago. At the time, tens of thousands of documents had been leaked. They detailed the massive surveillance program of the US intelligence services.

U.S. Homeland Security officials told the New York Timesthat "despite the changes sincethen," there are still "weaknesses ... in the empowerment process " to access military positions, such as the one held by the young suspect in the Air National Guard.

Also in the New York Times, a former Defense Department official points out that "too many people have access to too much information" that they do not need to know.

Not-so-secret documents?

The case therefore raises many concerns about the protection of classified documents. "Why would a young member of the Air National Guard have access to top-secret documents?" asks a USA Today editorial.

For its part, the Washington Post concludes: "If there is anything positive to be learned from these leaks, it is an overhaul to better protect and manage the nation's most precious secrets."

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