The University of North Florida held a public policy discussion on abortion in America on Monday, inviting prominent figures in pro-life and pro-choice movements to speak at the panel.
Monday’s event, titled “Abortion in America: Civil dialogue across the divide,” was moderated by Dr. Nicholas Seabrook, a UNF professor of political science and director of Public Policy Events. The guest speakers of the panel include Lynda Bell, president of Florida Right to Life and Sarah Parker, executive director of Voices of Florida.
Florida Rights to Life is a “nonpartisan, grassroots-level organization committed to protecting the sanctity of life through education and legislation,” according to the organization’s website.
According to the Voices of Florida website, the organization is a nonprofit “dedicated to defending reproductive freedoms and human rights, and empowering our communities through education, outreach and direct action.”
Panel discussion
Seabrook opened the discussion with a brief overview of the changing legal and political landscape since the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
“This brought to an end an almost 50-year period during which Roe had established abortion rights as the law of the land,” Seabrook said. “As the Florida example illustrates, the return of this public policy question to the states has had immediate and significant effects on abortion access.”
Advocacy Post-Dobbs
When asked how the Dobbs ruling shifted their approach to advocacy, Bell said she saw it as a necessary correction.
“The decision three years ago in June said that basically the decision, the Supreme Court’s decision that legalized abortion within all 50 states, was ruled as unconstitutional,” Bell said. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that guarantees a right to an abortion. So the decision must be returned to the states, rightfully to the states where it was.”
Parker, responding to the same question, said the ruling has created “jurisdictional inequality.”
“It depends on where you live, your rights,” she said. “Personal liberty and autonomy are important. This also created a patchwork of laws… it causes confusion and chaos, which creates more barriers.”
Women’s Healthcare in Florida
When Seabrook shifted the discussion to how varying state laws affect healthcare providers, Parker said the “patchwork” contributes to confusion and drives doctors out of state.
“OB-GYNs are leaving the state,” Parker said. “Reproductive health isn’t just about abortion—it’s about what happens after the pregnancy, making sure people have access to the things they need to take care of their child. When we have OB-GYNs leaving, that is scary, and it’s impacting everyone with the capacity to get pregnant.”
Bell replied that Parker’s words about OB-GYNs leaving the state are false.
“Interesting, because I hear these, I hear this gathering of statistics about OB-GYNs leaving the state. That’s not true. That is not true,” Bell said.
While there is no hard evidence on doctors leaving the state, there are numbers showing reductions in applicants to residency programs located in states with abortion bans two years after the Dobbs decision (during the 2023-2024 application cycle), according to a 2023 analysis by the AAMC Research and Action Institute.
Federal vs. State Control
In closing, Seabrook asked both panelists whether abortion should remain a state issue or if federal legislation was needed.
Lynda Bell, president of Florida Right to Life, rejected the idea of federal action.
“No, because the Supreme Court has already spoken,” she said. “If they said there is no constitutional authority… it should stay with the states.”
Bell said the only kind of federal law she might support would be one “to inform women on the effects of abortion, on the effects on their bodies, on the effects on their psyches.”
Sarah Parker took the opposite view, emphasizing access.
“I care about people having access to reproductive health care. Period. How we get that done is how we get that done,” she said, calling restrictions inconsistent and harmful.
Bell countered, saying, “Reproductive health care—that’s the code word for abortion,” and criticized the persistence of what she called “1970s arguments” about choice.
Finding Common Ground
Seabrook wrapped up the panel by highlighting the importance of civil discourse and points of compromise.
“I think civil discourse also means finding points of agreement, finding points of compromise,” Seabrook said. “And even I think on this panel, the two experts with very, very different views, very, very different perspectives, I think we’ve seen that there are certain things that we can come together and agree on…”
The event was part of UNF’s Diverse Perspectives Series, which promotes open discussion on contested policy issues.
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