Legislation requiring minors seeking an abortion to obtain parental consent goes before the full Florida House on Wednesday.
Florida statute already includes a parental notification requirement for minors seeking an abortion and a bill sponsored by (R-Vero Beach) would take that a step further by requiring approval from parents or a legal guardian.
Under current state law, a physician who performs an abortion on a minor without documented parental notification would face a first-degree misdemeanor. Under this bill, a doctor who performs an abortion procedure on a minor without parental consent would see that penalty increased to a third-degree felony.
During a stop in Naples, last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he鈥檚 not familiar with the specifics of the legislation, but that he supports it. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 for minors to have parental, you know, I want parental,鈥� said Gov. DeSantis. 鈥淚 think that that鈥檚 good policy. I haven鈥檛 seen the particulars of the bill, but I鈥檝e always supported that.鈥�
The bill carves out limited circumstances under which a minor could receive a court wavier for parental consent in cases of abuse. However, even then, a judge would have to rule that the minors seeking an abortion is 鈥渟ufficiently mature.鈥�
Executive Director of the , Laura Goodhue, said that鈥檚 one of the reasons she thinks this bill is simply about restricting access to abortion and not about the welfare of pregnant minors.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no law that says the young person must be mature enough to make a decision about her giving birth and becoming a parent,鈥� said Goodhue.
鈥淚n fact, a parent does not have to consent if a person under 18 decides to continue her pregnancy. So the alternative is forced pregnancy and forced birth for minors.鈥�
During a meeting of the in March, Rep. Grall spoke about the bill being necessary to promote traditional family dynamics and to preserve the rights of parents.
鈥淚 believe there is a large percentage of minors and parents that should be having the conversation. We don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 happening,鈥� said Grall.
鈥淭his puts the affirmative obligation on the physician to make sure that we鈥檙e really focusing on the family unit; on the vulnerability of the child to receive the advice and counsel of their parent who has invested much in the way of guidance throughout their life and this really seeks to put the focus back on the family in such an important decision.鈥�
Goodhue argues that officials cannot regulate good family communication and said she worries about pregnant minors for whom seeking consent could be dangerous. She also points to a number of medical organizations who have come out in opposition to the bill.
鈥淢edical professionals including the , the and the all oppose this legislation because they state it doesn鈥檛 lead to less abortion, but it just makes it an unsafe situation for a young person.鈥�
A Senate version of the bill ( ) narrowly passed its first committee stop last week on a party-line vote. It still need approval from members of two more committees before reaching the Senate floor.
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