Senate Readies Two More Pro-Life Bills for Final Vote

The Florida Senate readied two pro-life bills Wednesday for a final vote, which would require stricter parental notice requirements for minors seeking abortions and allow women to see video and hear a description of an ultrasound before getting an abortion.

SB 1770, sponsored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, requires written parental notification for minors seeking abortions, and does not allow them to travel outside their district to get a judicial bypass of the requirement. The bill resisted an amendment to allow underage girls to go outside the circuit court in their district to get a bypass in a dramatic 19-20 vote.

Hays said he wanted to prevent "judge shopping" to evade the notification requirement, but many senators, including female Republicans, supported the amendment.

"I'm a big supporter of parental notification," Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, prefaced. "But in order to protect the privacy of these young women and to make sure that they are not at risk when they go home, they need to be able to go outside their district. I am speaking not only as a mother and a daughter but as a woman, and I ask you to support this amendment," she added.

SB 1770, sponsored by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, requires abortion seekers to undergo an ultrasound before the procedure is conducted. It is similar to a bill that passed the Legislature last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist.

Both bills are scheduled for a final vote Thursday.