Yesterday a bipartisan group of Florida senators blocked a controversial abortion bill from coming to a final vote. The bill that included several measures to "clean up" parts of abortion bills that didn't pass last year did pass in the Florida House last week. The bill also contained a "fetal pain" measure which would have outlawed abortions after 20 weeks, in spite of no evidence to back it up.
SB 290, which has been described by critics as an “omnibus anti-choice” bill, was written to include several anti-abortion measures that did not pass in the GOP-led Florida Legislature last year. Among its many provisions, the bill would place onerous restrictions on abortion providers statewide. The bill also requires that all abortion clinics be wholly-owned and operated by a physician, which groups such as Planned Parenthood say would make it nearly impossible for the chain of women’s health clinics to open any new facilities in the state. Providers would also be required to take ethics classes and would not be able to advertise their services, which critics say is a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The bill also creates a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking the legal procedure and fails to include protections for the mental and physical health of women who are pregnant. The bill, as written, prevents third-trimester abortions, but allows for an exception only if it is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.” The bill removes language, however, that provides an exception to “save the life or preserve the health of the pregnant woman.”
Another 23 bills were withdrawn, including one to ban Sharia law.
"The public is calling and screaming, pleading with us to concentrate on bills that give us jobs, put food on our table and lower our cost of living," said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, who forced a vote on whether or not to bring the measure to the floor.
Ya think? Imagine what they could have accomplished in the Florida Legislature if they had come to this conclusion before the last week of the session.
Or say, last years session?
