Bill Requiring Parental Consent Before Abortion Passes Florida Legislature
The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday, Feb. 20, that requires minors obtain parental consent before having an abortion.
The Florida Senate passed the bill several weeks ago, and now, the abortion bill goes to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who promised to sign it into law in his State of the State address.
As of now, Florida law mandates that parents be notified if their minor child has an abortion, but consent is not required if the minor obtains a judicial waiver.
After the bill was passed, Florida Family Policy Council President John Stemberger issued a statement:
“This bill is a historic and landmark pro-life victory for many reasons. First, it will save the lives of countless babies born to pregnant minors. Second, it will protect parents’ rights by requiring them to be part of the conversation when a minor daughter becomes pregnant. Bill prime sponsors, Rep. Erin Grall and Sen. Kelli Stargel showed remarkable leadership and were great advocates for the protection of the unborn and for the health and safety of young pregnant mothers. Abortion is a permanent, irreversible and surgical procedure that is fraught with physical, emotional and psychological consequences.
Parents should absolutely be involved with this decision just like every other surgical procedure. The pro-life movement has worked for 30 years to see this historic bill passed and are grateful to the House Speaker Jose Oliva and Senate President Bill Galvano for making it a reality.”
According to the Florida Family Policy Council, hundreds of pro-life citizens traveled to Tallahassee, Florida, to advocate for the abortion bill’s passage. The council also says Democrats tried to obstruct the bill with hundreds of amendments but were unable to keep the bill from garnering bipartisan support.
Florida is now the sixth state to pass a law that requires parental consent and notification before minors obtain an abortion.
