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PolitiFact Florida: Mostly False, Mostly True Claims In Bush Meme

politifact.com

As the pool of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination grows, so do the claims about the candidates.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is featured in an infographic -- or meme -- making the rounds on social media titled “Five Things You Need To Know About Jeb Bush.”

The political group Ultraviolet, which advocates for women's rights, is behind this one.

Credit Ultraviolet

PolitiFact Florida checked out the talking points, and ran two of the claims through its Truth-O-Meter.

The meme says that Jeb Bush "appointed a guardian for the fetus of a rape survivor."

PolitiFact Florida’s Ruling: Mostly False

Bush asked a judge in 2003 to name someone to act in the interests of the fetus of a mentally disabled woman raped in a group home. But the judge did not, because state law does not give a fetus the same protections as a person. An appeals court upheld the judge’s compliance with a 1989 Florida Supreme Court ruling. To be clear, Bush did not appoint anyone as a representative for the fetus, but he did want one. We rate the statement Mostly False.

The meme also says Jeb Bush "said low-income women should ‘get their life together and find a husband.'"

PolitiFact Florida’s Ruling: Mostly True

He did say that, back in 1994 during his first gubernatorial run, when the quote also was used against him by opponents. He was talking about putting a limit on a particular welfare program and doubled down on the concept that women would not be on welfare if they were married. The meme omits context and that the comments are more than 20 years old. But Bush did say that. So we rate the statement Mostly True.

Lottie Watts was our Florida Matters producer from 2012 to 2016. She also covers health and health policy for WUSF's Health News Florida .
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