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On abortion front: GOP top leaders say they don’t support bill to ban virtually all abortions in FL [1]

['Mitch Perry', 'More From Author', '- January']

Date: 2024-01-09  

The two most powerful lawmakers in the Florida Legislature — Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner — said Tuesday that neither had any interest in passing a bill that would effectively ban most abortion procedures in the state.

“The legislation that I supported was the bill that we passed last year,” said Renner, in speaking to reporters in the state Capitol on Tuesday. That’s a reference to the 2023 six-week abortion ban, which is not yet in effect while legal challenges in the Florida Supreme Court continue over a 15-week ban in 2022.

Renner said Tuesday: “We had Roe v. Wade for 50 years where the courts not only said that it’s okay to take that life at any point up until 40 weeks until the time of birth, but also that it’s okay, it’s a constitutional right,” he continued. “And so culturally, I just don’t believe we’re at a place where we’re ready to take that step. In a perfect world, I would love to see there’d be no abortions. We live in a fallen world, not a perfect world, and so I’m realistic about that. I think where we are is where we are.”

Renner went on to say that perhaps over time with “science and education where people may change their minds, but right now that’s not where I think the majority of Floridians would be, and I respect that, and I think we’re going to stay put with where we are.”

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said less on the issue but did express her views. When asked if she supported a House bill that would effectively ban most abortion procedures in the state, Passidomo said “no.” She added, “there is no bill filed in the Senate as far as I know.”

The House bill (HB 1519) filed Monday is sponsored by Miami-Dade County Rep. David Borrero. The measure would effectively ban all abortions in Florida except in the case of a medical emergency.

It also says that “a person or an entity may not purposely perform or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.”

It would target physicians who perform abortions, and not the women who get them. The measure says that the penalty for “performing or attempting to perform an abortion” would be a third-degree felony, subject to as much as 10 years in prison or with a fine of up to $100,000, “or both.”

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[1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/01/09/on-abortion-front-gop-top-leaders-say-they-dont-support-bill-to-ban-virtually-all-abortions-in-fl/

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