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Senate Poised To Take Up Parental Consent

Courtesy of Gov. DeSantis Office
Courtesy of Gov. DeSantis Office

Moving quickly on the controversial issue, the Senate is expected Wednesday to take up a proposal that would require parental consent before minors could have abortions. 

The Senate has scheduled the measure (SB 404) for consideration during a floor session Wednesday afternoon. The House version (HB 265) also is positioned to go to the House floor, though it has not been scheduled for debate.

Florida already has a requirement for parents to be notified before minors have abortions, but a consent requirement would be more restrictive.

The current law has a process in which minors can go to court to avoid notifying their parents about having abortions --- a so-called “judicial bypass” that also is part of the consent proposal.

The Florida Supreme Court in 1989 struck down a parental-consent law, finding that it violated a right to privacy in the state Constitution. But supporters of this year’s proposal have expressed confidence that it would be upheld, at least in part because of a new conservative majority on the court.

During his State of the State address this month, DeSantis briefly alluded to the parental-consent issue, saying he hopes it will “make its way to my desk during this session.”

Copyright 2020 Health News Florida

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