Six months in, Florida's six-week abortion ban forces more patients out of state

Case in point: Thea Thompson, a St. Petersburg mother and nurse who was excited to have a second child, learned last month, at 18 weeks pregnant, that the fetus wasn't going to survive, WUSF reported.

• While Florida's six-week ban includes an exception for fatal fetal abnormalities, Thompson's doctor told her that, due to the legal landscape, he wouldn't sign off on one until she took an invasive genetic test to confirm the diagnosis. 
• After she learned she'd be at a higher risk of serious infection if she took the test, Thompson decided against it. Instead, she traveled out of Florida to terminate the pregnancy.

What she's saying: "I just didn't want to put myself through that, my own health through that, my husband through that," she told WUSF.

By the numbers: Triple the number of callers sought abortions out of state from May to November than in the first four months of the year, before the six-week ban went into effect, according to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund.

• The fund pledged more than $55,000 in practical support, which includes travel costs like airfare and hotel stays. That support averages $800 per caller.

• It pledged more than $346,000 in appointment costs and helped 739 callers. 
• With two more months left in the year, the fund anticipates this will be a record year in spending.

At the same time, the pool of money available to abortion funds has shrunk due to an increase in need, the local fund said.

What's next: The Tampa Bay Abortion Fund is launching an end-of-year fundraiser on Nov. 11, with an initial goal of $50,000. 

• You can donate here.