Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kills hopes of ‘Free Kill’ repeal with veto announcement

A controversial 35-year-old state law will stay on the books, at least for now.

Gov. Ron DeSantis publicly announced he would veto a bill that would have repealed Florida’s so-called “Free Kill” law that blocks some families from suing for pain and suffering when they lose a loved one to medical negligence.

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DeSantis argued the repeal of the carveout would have led to a flood of new lawsuits.

“If this legislation would be enacted, it would lead to higher costs for Floridians. It would lead to less access to care for Floridians. It would make it harder for us to keep, recruit and maintain physicians in the State of Florida and we need more as it is now,” DeSantis said.

The carveout, unique to Florida, prevents anyone from suing for pain and suffering when an unmarried person over the age of 25, with no children under the age of 25, dies due to medical negligence.

The veto came as a devastating blow to advocates who have spent years fighting for the law’s repeal.

“Anyone who watches that press conference is going to hear him really speaking to his donors. We weren’t there. We didn’t have an opportunity to speak,” Jacksonville resident Cindy Jenkins, who lost her daughter Taylor due to medical negligence back in 2023, said.

Jenkins argued the law creates a two-tiered system of justice that provides no accountability for an entire category of people.

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“We don’t want this to happen to other people. And we fought the good fight this year and 93 percent of the legislature agreed that the law needed to end. And with the stroke of one person’s pen it’s now vetoed,” Jenkins said.

DeSantis said he would have supported the bill if it had capped awards on pain and suffering damages for all cases of medical negligence.

“If you don’t have those caps, then you really are incentivizing a lot more litigation to take place,” DeSantis said.

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But it’s a proposal the legislature has rejected for the last two years in a row.

State Sen. Clay Yarborough (R-Jacksonville), who sponsored this year’s bill, indicated in a statement he does not plan to seek a veto override.

“While I wanted to see the bill become law, I have great respect for Governor DeSantis and his role as our Chief Executive. I accept his decision,” Yarborough wrote. “There is certainly a place for overrides as contemplated in our Constitution. However, the Governor has an important role in policy changes for our state and I believe his perspective on this issue should be reflected in our laws.”

Even still, given the overwhelming support the bill received in the legislature, Jenkins said she is holding out hope legislative leaders may still pursue a veto override in the coming weeks.

“Say, you know what? We understand that you vetoed this and you chose profits over people, but we’re gonna stick our original vote and we’re gonna show that we value life over profits,” Jenkins said.

The last override of a policy bill happened in 2010, under then-Independent Governor Charlie Crist.

While lawmakers did override $56 million of DeSantis’ budget vetoes earlier this year, no Republican Florida Legislature has ever overridden a Republican Governor’s veto of a policy bill.

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