JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers advanced a bill this week that abortion advocates fear could lead to an all-out abortion ban in the state.
The bill gives prospective parents the ability to sue for wrongful death if they lose a pregnancy, essentially giving them the same legal recourse that already exists if they were to lose a child due to negligence of a doctor, business, or individual.
Senate sponsor Erin Grall (R-Fort Pierce) argued that those legal protections already exist within criminal law, so it makes sense to extend them into civil law.
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“To treat all children the same regardless of their location and their age,” said Grall.
But State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) argued it’s not so simple.
She worries the bill could create a pathway to ban abortion entirely in the state.
“To give fetuses the same civil rights as human children,” said Eskamani.
Concerns have also been raised by the medical community over the potential more lawsuits related to treatment of high-risk pregnancies or even family planning care like IVF.
“Will there be enough providers? Will there be people willing to take on difficult, complex situations and provide them the care that they need?” said nurse Dorinda Nance, who spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.
And the ACLU of Florida argued that by allowing either parent to sue, the legal avenue could be easily abused.
“Where in this bill would it prevent an abusive partner, an ex-boyfriend, a rapist from bringing a lawsuit for damages against friends and family members of an individual who had an abortion?” said Kara Gross with the ACLU of Florida.
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But Grall dismissed the concerns, noting 15 states already have similar laws.
She argued that protections for legal, consensual medical care are included in the bill, and fathers must have a “recognized responsibility” for the child’s support to sue.
“To think that we’ll just have a rash of frivolous lawsuits is not real. I think what we hear, though, we hear that a different standard of care should be applied to a child in the womb,” said Grall.
The bill cleared its first committee on a one-vote margin.
Two Republican Senators even voted against it, which Eskamani said gives her hope the bill won’t clear the finish line this year.
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