The Florida House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would require girls under the age of 18 to get permission from a parent or legal guardian before receiving an abortion, WTSP reports.
The House voted along party lines, 75-43, in favor of the bill. The Florida Senate passed the bill Feb. 6. Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign it.
Debate on the measure lasted four hours, with many Democrats citing privacy as a concern.
"We are codifying into law that someone else can force a girl to have a child she does not want to have," Democratic state Rep. Susan Valdes said. "I worry that many girls will, when deprived access to a safe termination of pregnancy, take the risks of finding an unsafe, dangerous and untested method of terminating their pregnancies."
Republican state Rep. Erin Grall, who sponsored the bill, said the rights of parents should not be taken away.
"What we are talking about is a child, and here were are talking about a child who is carrying a child," Grall said. "By including parents in this decision we empower the family. It is the critical backbone of our civilized society."
"We hear the stories about the bad parent, the human trafficking, the intolerant parent, the abusive parent, the parent who will kill their child," she added. "I refuse to accept that we should diminish the rights of all parents in the raising of their children because of the acts of a few."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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