The Florida House okays a bill asking voters to allow the Legislature to require parents to be notified before a minor gets an abortion.
By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published March 17, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - State lawmakers could require parents to be notified before minors get an abortion, under a proposal approved Tuesday by the Florida House.
The measure, approved 93-25, would ask voters in November to amend the Florida Constitution and give the Legislature the authority to require parental notification.
It also would reverse a Florida Supreme Court ruling last fall that allowed minors to get an abortion without a parent's knowledge.
The bipartisan vote was far more than the three-fifths majority required to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
A similar proposal passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 5-3 vote and was amended to more closely match the House measure. It is poised to go to the Senate floor.
If the Senate approves, the proposal would appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd sponsored the measure (HJR 1) and made it one of his top priorities.
Only Democrats voted against it, arguing that it undermines the privacy rights of minors.
The proposal marks the Legislature's third attempt to deal with minors getting abortions. The state Supreme Court struck down a 1989 law that required a minor to get a parent's consent to an abortion. Last year, the court ruled that a 1999 law requiring parental notification also violated minors' privacy rights guaranteed by the state Constitution.
"Last summer when the Supreme Court struck down parental notification, it actually almost drove a stake through my heart," said Rep. Sandra Murman, R-Tampa. "Parents have a right to know if their minor child is going to have an abortion."
The Senate version differs from the House version by allowing judges to make exceptions to the parental notification requirement, such as when incest or abuse is involved.
The House did not include that provision because it already is covered in federal law, Byrd said.
During a heated debate that lasted more than an hour, many legislators talked about their own relationships with their daughters.
"I'm going to talk to you as the mother of a daughter," said Stacy Ritter, D-Coral Springs, who opposed the bill. "I like my daughter. We talk about boys. And we talk about sex and sex education. I don't want the people on the floor of this House making intimate decisions about my family."
House members supporting the bill argued that if minors need a parent's consent to get a tattoo or body piercing they should at least be required to tell their parents before getting an abortion.
"What we're voting on is parental consent for a procedure that is much more serious," said Ken Littlefield, R-Wesley Chapel.
Democrats, however, called the measure an affront to the rights of girls. Several warned that it could turn back the clock on decades of progress because girls afraid to tell their parents might seek illegal abortions or try to self-abort.
While 35 other states have parental notification laws, nine have had legal challenges preventing laws from being enforced, said Rep. Anne Gannon, D-Delray Beach.
Other opponents said the proposal is little more than an anti-abortion measure.
"This bill is about abortion and placing obstacles on young women so that they cannot or will not have an abortion," said, Rep. Nan Rich, D-Weston.
Groups like Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates said they're against both the House and Senate versions of parental notification, regardless of judicial exceptions, said Planned Parenthood executive director Stephanie Grutman.
