The state of Florida, fourth largest in the nation, has several major healthcare challenges which were described in a meeting of the Democratic Women\u2019s Club of Marco (DWCMarco) on October 21, 2025, at the Mackle Park Community Center. Dr. Patricia Poling, who practices as a board-certified internist and pediatrician on Marco Island, was the speaker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Challenge 1: Failure to Pass Florida Amendment 4\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Florida Amendment 4was a proposed\u202famendment\u202fto the\u202fFlorida Constitution, which failed on November 5, 2024. Through a statewide\u202freferendum, the amendment achieved 57% support among voters in the\u202fU.S. state\u202fof\u202fFlorida, short of the 60% supermajority required by law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The amendment would have guaranteed the right to abortion in the Florida Constitution before\u202ffetal viability\u202f(generally considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks\u202fgestational age). It would have also permitted abortion after viability (23 weeks to birth) for any reason a healthcare provider determined to be related to health.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a result, with a few arduous exceptions, abortion in Florida is now illegal more than six weeks from a woman\u2019s last period, a time when many women do not yet realize that they are pregnant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Poling outlined for the group some of the consequences of the failure of this Amendment:\u00a0<\/p>\n
OB\/GYN medical residents in Florida must travel to other states to obtain mandatory training in certain procedures to satisfy their medical boards. In addition, many OB\/GYN physicians are either leaving Florida or have stated that they will stop providing care within the next two years, leaving OB\/GYN patients without care options.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are the solutions?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plan B One Step, sometimes referred to as the morning after pill, which is\u202femergency contraception (not abortion) that helps prevent pregnancy within 72 hours after unprotected sex. It is available without a prescription.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where does this leave us?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Poling and many of her colleagues feel constrained in their ability to care for patients by these laws and one of her doctor friends said, \u201cWhen we have to consult the legal books before the medical textbooks to practice medicine, something is wrong.\u201d The 57% of Floridians who voted for Amendment 4 would probably agree with her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Challenge 2 \u2013 Withdrawal of Vaccine Mandate\u00a0<\/p>\n
Florida is in the process of becoming the first state to remove the mandate for many common vaccines, meaning that if successful, vaccines would be optional and parents may decide whether their children receive any, all, or no vaccines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This proposal, according to many physicians and scientists, has not been supported by studies, data, or other scientific evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Poling worries that if vaccination rates decrease, \u201cherd immunity\u201d (resistance to the spread of an infectious disease within a population that is based on\u202fpre-existing\u202fimmunity\u202fof a high proportion of individuals as a result of previous infection or\u202fvaccination) is not reached and as a result, more people will become sick, putting strain on an already overloaded medical system. The level of vaccination needed to achieve herd immunity varies by disease but ranges from 83 to 94 percent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Credible data shows that the global infant mortality rate without vaccines has surpassed that of the mortality rate with vaccines by up to over 2% according to data from 1974 through 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conflicting and confusing information emanating from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a federal agency once regarded as a highly reliable authority on infectious disease, hasseverely compromised its value to healthcare providers under the current government administration, according to Dr. Poling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cases of common childhood diseases such as pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria, tetanus, measles, varicella (chicken pox), and polio had all declined to near-zero levels since these vaccines were introduced and mandated in children. The consequences of declines in vaccination rates for these diseases can result in the following mortality rates:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Now that the CDC has been compromised by its dubious and confusing stances on vaccines, where can we, the lay public, go for credible, scientifically based information on vaccines and other healthcare issues?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Resources Recommended by Dr. Poling for Staying Informed\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Science is what got us vaccines that prevented life-threatening diseases as early as the 19th century, and ignoring science can and has led us to unfounded, ineffective, and often harmful \u201ccures\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Get to know and Join Us!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prior to Dr. Poling\u2019s talk, Jane Schlechtweg, the Executive Chair of Collier County Democrats, summarized next steps for the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n