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Florida legislative leaders say they will discuss further restrictions on abortions
Supercharged by a supermajority in the House and Senate, Florida legislative leaders broke their silence Wednesday and confirmed they are prepared to discuss further abortion restrictions in Florida in the next year. But how far they will go is the big question, and interviews with the presiding officers indicate they already appear to be taking different approaches. Incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo told the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times in an interview that she wants to see the 15-week ban approved last year by lawmakers reduced to 12 weeks with the addition of an exclusion for rape and incest, which is currently not allowed.
“I went on record on the abortion bill in support of an exclusion for rape and incest, and I’d like to see that,’’ said Passidomo, a Naples Republican who will be sworn in this month as the third woman to be Florida’s Senate president. “And I think in order to accomplish that, I think we would have to reduce the weeks. I don’t have a problem going to 12 weeks.” Under the law passed earlier this year, all abortions are banned 15 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period. Women can still obtain an abortion after that cutoff if their health is threatened or if their baby has a “fatal fetal abnormality,” but there is no exception for victims of rape or incest.
Incoming House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, said the House is likely to support additional restrictions as well but he was unwilling to “put a number on it.” “I don’t think it’s time for me to put a number on it until we’ve organized,’’ Renner said, noting that there are 30 new legislators joining the House after the election, including a record 85-member Republican majority. He was not prepared to say if they will want to see an outright ban on all abortions or further limits on the existing 15-week ban. “I personally am pro life and would like to see us move more in that direction,’’ he said. “But I want to hear from my colleagues in the House and my colleagues in the Senate before we take any steps in that direction.”
Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed the possibility of additional abortion legislation on Friday, and wrote: “We look forward to working with the Legislature to further advance protections for innocent life.” ‘HEARTBEAT’ BILL IS SOUGHT BY ACTIVISTS Anti-abortion activists want legislators to tighten the limits on the procedure by passing a so-called “heartbeat” bill banning abortions after six weeks, before many pregnancies are detected, said John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney and director of the Florida Family Policy Council, an anti-abortion advocacy group. But he said he is uncertain whether that is possible even with what may be the most conservative Legislature in a decade.
“I know the governor wants to do something that is more protective, and his office is weighing what to do,’’ he said. “The question is how much political capital he will use to make this a priority.” Stemberger predicted that “the most likely thing to happen is a heartbeat bill” because that would put Florida in line with states to the north that have either banned all abortions or banned them after six weeks of gestation. “But of course leadership is key,’’ he said. “I think Renner would support a heartbeat bill, as would the governor, but the question is: Will the Senate president?”
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, DeSantis issued a statement praising the decision on states’ jurisdiction over abortion regulations and promised that Florida “will work to expand pro-life protections.” He provided no specifics. But DeSantis has also not repeated a promise he made when campaigning in 2018 that he would sign a so-called “heartbeat” bill. On Friday, Griffin would only say that DeSantis is “proud of the 15-week pro-life protections that he signed into law in April, as a baby in gestation beyond 15 weeks is fully formed, can feel pain, and has a heartbeat.”
POLL SHOWS FLORIDIANS SUPPORT RIGHT TO ABORTIONS According to a May survey of over 500 Floridians by Florida Atlantic University, most Florida residents want abortion to remain legal in most cases. That poll showed 67% of residents wanting abortion legal in either all or most cases, including 85% of Democrats, 52% of Republicans and 63% of independents. “These moves are not reflective of what their constituents want — across the board in Florida — and that’s across party lines,’’ said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. “It doesn’t matter the number of weeks, they’re just opposed to politicians interfering in their pregnancy decisions.” She also said that for Passidomo, a lawyer with three grown daughters, it could be a difficult issue.
“Does she want this to be her legacy — that she’s taking away women’s rights when it’s certainly not the priority of Floridians and her constituents?” Goodhue asked. Goodhue said she agreed with Renner on one thing: “You can’t put a number on people’s rights and people’s pregnancies. Every pregnancy is different.” It is unclear whether Florida voters would punish or reward Republicans for passing more restrictions, which is considered popular with just a segment of the conservative base.
Read more at:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/po...-politics/article268575212.html#storylink=cpy
www.yahoo.com
