A Florida House subcommittee approved a bill Thursday that would prohibit abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, advancing the legislation to the State House Health and Human Services Committee for a hearing.
The House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee voted 13-5 in support of HB7, a measure that would protect most unborn babies from abortion at generally six weeks after a heartbeat is detected.
Democrat State Rep. Anna Eskamani (Orange) proposed an amendment to the bill that would have struck the heartbeat abortion ban.
Today I presented an amendment to HB7 that would strike the 6 week abortion ban; it failed along a party line vote. We will keep fighting. pic.twitter.com/Xd6xZ4V5H5
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) March 16, 2023
Planned Parenthood condemned the legislation, referring to it as “extreme” and claiming the Florida Legislature is “ignoring waves of emotional opposition from the public.”
The Florida legislature is fast-tracking its extreme abortion ban, ignoring waves of emotional opposition from the public. Monday, the Senate Committee on Health Policy will vote on the ban. Contact them now: https://t.co/JuLfpoeu1j pic.twitter.com/z0SfJLIfol
— Florida Planned Parenthood Action (@PPactionFL) March 16, 2023
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life American, however, asserts the majority of Floridians support HB7.
A Ragnar Research poll conducted for the pro-life group found 62 percent of likely voters in Florida support protections for babies once a heartbeat is detected, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, as opposed to 26 percent who do not and 12 percent who don’t know.
Additionally, SBA Pro-Life America states the six-week bill includes protections for women who face health emergencies.
“HB7 includes a provision that adequately protects women and doctors when intervention is needed for emergency health reasons,” the pro-life organization states. “This measure, along with every existing pro-life law in the country, allows for the necessary and timely medical treatment to save the life of a pregnant woman in an emergency.”
The fight for life has momentum in Florida.
We thank Rep @jenna_persons for sponsoring this bill,
Subcommittee Chair @ChuckClemons21 & all the House members who voted for life! This is the first step to saving tens of thousands of babies each year in FL:https://t.co/lpFEgvK4XI— SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) March 16, 2023
SBA Pro-Life America Southern Regional Director Caitlin Connors applauded the bill’s advancement.
“The fight for life has momentum in Florida,” Connors said in a statement. “We thank Rep. Jenna Persons Mulicka for sponsoring this bill and all of the House members who voted for life this morning. This is the first step to saving tens of thousands of babies each year in Florida.”
Florida @GovRonDeSantis on the pro-life cause:
"The people that aren't supportive of the life cause, they're not people you want to be in a foxhole with on any other political battle. They are the first ones who will sell out to the DC establishment when the going gets tough." pic.twitter.com/WVtyU8tO5N
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 9, 2021
Click Orlando reported in February, when a reporter asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if he intended to sign a “constitutional carry” gun bill and a potential six-week abortion ban, the governor responded, “We’re for constitutional carry, we’re for pro-life. I urge the Legislature to work, produce good stuff, and we will sign.”
During an interview in June 2021 with the Daily Caller News Foundation, DeSantis said about the pro-life cause, “The people that aren’t supportive of the life cause, they’re not people you want to be in a foxhole with on any other political battle. They are the first ones who will sell out to the DC establishment when the going gets tough.”
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
