City council member wants to reimburse city employees who travel for ‘medical treatment related to reproductive rights’

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – City Councilman Reggie Gaffney has proposed laws that would develop a reimbursement choice for city employees who vacation for “medical remedies relevant to reproductive legal rights.”

Gaffney’s invoice comes on the heels of a leaked preliminary the vast majority impression from the Supreme Court docket on Roe v. Wade that has abortion rights advocates scrambling.

Study: Gaffney’s bill on vacation reimbursement for reproductive legal rights

If the draft from the Supreme Courtroom retains, it fundamentally sends the concern of abortion rights back to the states — like it was in advance of 1973, when the Roe conclusion founded federally that a female had the suitable to have an abortion.

If states are in the driver’s seat for abortion legislation, Florida and Georgia both equally have Republican-dominated legislatures that have been efforting limited abortion limits. Florida just passed a 15-7 days abortion ban, and Georgia’s fetal heartbeat legislation has been effectively halted by a federal courtroom.

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That suggests a regional woman who preferred to have an abortion could possibly have to journey out of state, beyond neighboring Georgia, to legally have one.

Gaffney’s bill appears to be planning for that probability by creating that Jacksonville city personnel who opt for these kinds of treatment could be reimbursed for their vacation fees.

If handed, the invoice would go into outcome July 1 and allow up to $4,000 in travel charges per year for a town worker for any professional medical solutions related to reproductive legal rights if that procedure is not obtainable inside of 100 miles of the employee’s residence and digital treatment is not possible.

Individuals treatments could incorporate medicine, strategies or functions, like terminating a pregnancy, applying contraceptives, household organizing or getting obtain to reproductive overall health providers, in accordance to the invoice.

The bill will be introduced at the next Metropolis Council conference on Tuesday and is getting submitted as an emergency monthly bill, which would indicate it would require only one particular cycle in advance of it would go into effect. It is slated for a public hearing on June 14.

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Friday afternoon, Councilman Reggie Gaffney produced a statement indicating, “As a man of religion, applying this would not be my individual preference. Even so, as a legislator I signify all individuals and I will battle for their liberty and their ideal to have options, and just about every lady justifies this choice.”

Gaffney included his office environment will be expressing more about this up coming week.