Florida lawmakers pass bill requiring parental consent for abortion

TAMPA, Fla. - State lawmakers passed the controversial abortion bill requiring parents to give consent for daughters to have an abortion. The bill is now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has been a vocal critic of the measure. After it passed, she issued a statement saying it creates "additional unnecessary barriers for young women seeking reproductive healthcare."
 
“Denying young women the moral agency to make decisions about their own bodies doesn’t promote better family communication, and it doesn’t stop women from getting abortions. All this legislation does is put young women in harm’s way, both mentally and physically, for making a private decision afforded to them by the Florida Constitution. While lawmakers take this step today, they should be honest with Floridians about their ultimate goal: to strip all women of their right to make their own healthcare decisions.”

Progress Florida's Reproductive Rights Program director Amy Weintraub voiced her displeasure outside of Republican Jackie Toledo’s Tampa ahead of Thursday night's vote.  

“It is just pretty clear what they're trying to do. They’re anti-abortion extremists and they want to end abortion access for all people in Florida,” she said.

Republican lawmakers argue parents of pregnant minors should have a voice in the decision to end a pregnancy.

”When we look at common practice in the medical field, in the state of Florida, and how minors are treated, it is common practice that parents have to give consent,” said Republican Representative Jennifer Mae Sullivan.

Weintraub calls the bill a “trojan horse.”

”It is simply a bill to test our newly-conservative supreme court to see if they will rule differently than previous state court on anti-abortion legislation they're really attempting to overturn Florida’s version of Roe v Wade,” she said.