Parental consent for abortions clears another hurdle in the Florida House
The State Capitol was a battleground for abortion restrictions Wednesday.
The GOP majority is cueing up a legal challenge over whether minors can be required to get their parents consent for an abortion.
A pro-life rally outside the Capitol and the bill coming up for a committee hearing inside, requiring a young woman to have her parent's consent for an abortion was on the agenda all throughout the Capitol grounds.
“I am tired of the lie that abortion is health care,” said Representative Tommy Gregory.
“God is the person that allows people to be pregnant. We have to trust that he knows best,” said Representative Bob Rommel.
“At 12 years old, if you are able to get pregnant, you can, in fact, walk into an abortion clinic and obtain an abortion,” said Representative Erin Grall.
A handful of the more than 50 who signed up to speak at the committee were either abuse or rape victims.
“Had I become pregnant when I was sexually abused, I could not have gone to my parents,” said Carolyn Siegelman with the National Latino Institute for Reproductive Health.
The legislation does allow a young woman who can’t go to her parents for consent to seek a judicial bypass, but one woman told lawmakers it was cumbersome.
“As a teenage girl cannot tell her parents she is pregnant, like I was, there’s a good reason. Trust her to make the right decision,” said Kristen Erichsen.
With new appointments from a new governor, Florida’s Supreme Court has switched from a four-three liberal majority to a six-one conservative majority.
If the legislation is approved, the GOP-led legislature believes it will set up a challenge to a 1989 Court ruling that found the privacy amendment applies to underage minors.
“My intent is to have the parental consent added back to our statutes so that parents are involved in the decision,” said Grall.
Under the legislation, a physician that performs an abortion without a parent's consent could be guilty of a felony.
A second abortion bill, prohibiting abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, has yet to get a hearing.
