By Michael Moline | Editor in Chief
“There’s too much uncertainty regarding what we are doing. There’s a lot of unanswered questions.” — Sen. Lori Berman of the status of Florida’s KidCare program
The DeSantis administration continues to stall the implementation of a 2023 law that would make Florida KidCare coverage available to more children. (Photo via Getty Images)
Litigation over the program has been going on for years as the state kicked kids off the healthcare program for low-income children in defiance of state and federal law and policy. Members of a legislative panel asked state administrators how long the case would drag on, but they couldn’t answer. They’ve issued misleading or incorrect answers to questions about how many kids lost coverage. One powerful state senator has suggested the next governor — Democrat or Republican — reconsider the DeSantis administration’s whole approach to this matter.
Could conservatives who cheered the overturning of Roe v. Wade be coming for no-fault divorce? It’s already beginning under the banner of “family values.” GOP platforms in Texas and Louisiana already call for it, and the Louisiana party is looking at following suit. Bills have been filed in Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota. Other states are talking about allowing couples to opt out of no-fault. That won’t work out well for women facing domestic violence. “Simply the idea that we’re talking about it seriously, that it’s part of some Republican party platforms, that it’s not just laughed out of the room,” said Marcia Zug of the University of South Carolina School of Law. “Even if we’re not anywhere near eliminating it, that is the major change.”
A ProPublica investigation has revealed a rise in deaths attributable to ectopic pregnancies: “Almost 200 women with the condition died from 2020 to 2025, compared with about 100 in the previous six years,” the publication says. The condition is eminently treatable medically, yet doctors and hospitals in abortion-ban states, wary of incurring professional or criminal repercussions, can be slow to treat. One problem is that an embryo can be too small to be seen under sonography, even when symptoms like pain and bleeding seem clear. “A death related to ectopic pregnancy should really be a never event,” said Dr. Alice Abernathy, an OB-GYN in Philadelphia.
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