Florida Democrats Denounce GOP Bill Dismantling Abortion Rights for Young Women as Unconstitutional

As the House voted today to dismantle the right of young women to make decisions about their bodies, Florida Democrats denounced the bill now headed to the Governor’s desk that requires parental consent for abortions.

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

“DeSantis pushed for this anti-choice bill. He and his Republican lawmakers know they passed a bill that violates our state’s constitutional right to privacy and they don’t care because they expect conservatives on Florida’s Supreme Court to overturn the court’s previous 1989 decision protecting young women’s right to privacy and be a rubber stamp for DeSantis’s attacks on women.”

The Republican bill has been criticized widely as unconstitutional in view of the 1989 Florida Supreme Court decision upholding a right to privacy for young women. Critics have pointed out that it will have adverse effects for young women not only in Florida but potentially all over the Southeast because Florida is one of the last places in the Southeast where access to abortion isn’t heavily restricted.

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 the state constitution’s privacy rights.

In 2012, voters were asked to weaken their own rights on privacy and, not surprisingly, flatly rejected the idea. If this bill goes into law, Republican lawmakers will finally undo the will of the people.