Florida lawmakers are about to provide the Sunshine State with the nation’s strongest parental notification law for minors seeking abortions as the Legislature moves closer to sending Gov. Rick Scott a number of anti-abortion bills. The parental notification bill would make it harder for minors to get a court-ordered exemption for the procedure,
The Palm Beach Post reported Thursday.
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| Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign the bills into law. (Getty Images Photo) |
The Sunshine State’s Senate Wednesday rejected a move to keep the present law, which allows a minor to get seek a waiver from an appeals court judge. The new law limits the minors seeking an exemption to getting one from a circuit judge. Generally, appeals court circuits cover a wider area, and circuit courts hear local cases.
Republican Sen. Alan Hays, who sponsored the bill, said young women have plenty of opportunity to see a judge in their own community and should not be allowed to shop for a judge.
“I find it preposterous that a young lady . . . might be put in a vehicle and transported all the way from Escambia County to Duval County just so she can get an abortion without her parents knowing about it,” Hays said.
Lawmakers also are expected to approve another anti-abortion measure requiring women to have ultrasounds before they get abortions.
Lawmakers are expected to approve a total of four anti-abortion measures before the legislative session ends Friday. Lawmakers in both chambers have approved one bill that would let voters decide whether they want to prohibit state money from being used to pay for abortions and another that would bar insurance policies purchased under the federal healthcare law from covering abortions.
Scott is expected to sign the bills.
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