GOP Senate Hides Behind Claim Of Protecting Children While Dismantling Abortion Rights

Today, on the 47th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, the Senate voted to move SB 404 forward on becoming law. This new parental consent bill is designed to thwart the will of the people in protecting privacy rights and curtail a woman’s right to an abortion.

Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, released the following statement:

“This bill isn’t about protecting our children, it’s about putting up new barriers to the most vulnerable people in our society and is an attack on abortion rights. If they succeed in chipping away abortion rights with this bill, it will open the floodgates on anti-choice legislation. Florida is one of the last places in the southeast where access to abortion isn’t heavily restricted. If the GOP succeeds, we may have a future where women in the South have no control over our own bodies.”

Rizzo added, “The fact that Republicans chose to vote on SB 404 on the anniversary of Roe V. Wade shows their true motives are to end abortion rights in the Sunshine State.”

Floridians Demand A Right To Privacy: In 1980, Florida voters created a state constitutional right to privacy. Nine years later, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled the state’s newly enacted parental consent law on abortion was unconstitutional — it violated our state constitution’s privacy rights.

In 2012, voters were asked to weaken their own rights on privacy and, unsurprisingly, flatly rejected the idea. Now the State Senate continues to move forward with a new parental consent bill that Republican lawmakers’ hope will finally undo the will of the people.

See Also: 
The Republican Assault on Women’s Privacy Has To Stop