TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (WSVN) - Weeks after Florida’s abortion bill was passed by the House, it’s in the hands of the Senate.
There’s much debate before Thursday’s big vote.
The law would ban most abortions after 15 weeks with no exception for rape, incest or human trafficking.
“This bill ensures that a person carrying a fetus to term is financially supported by the person who caused the insemination of the egg before and after the fetus comes out of the womb,” said Sen. Tina Polsky (D), Boca Raton.
“But what happens if a woman sleeps with multiple men and gets pregnant?” asked Sen. Travis Hutson (R), Palm Coast.
“I don’t love the implication that you mentioned with respect to, you know, she sleeps around with a lot of different guys,” said Polsky.
“I think the conversation is worth discussion, but I think it falls without the scope of this bill, and I’d ask that you to please vote down on this amendment,” said Sen. Kelli Stargel (R), Lakeland.
It’s a last ditch chance for the opponents of the proposed abortion ban to make changes, and so far, it has not worked.
“You know what I was doing when I finally disclosed my abuse after 15 weeks? Taping newspapers to every single window of my house, because I somehow believed that the rapist could look inside my house,” said State Sen. Lauren Book (D), Plantation.
Book is a sexual abuse survivor arguing for rape, incest, and human trafficking exemptions to the abortion ban before the Senate.
“They didn’t want to see the face of their rapist every single time they looked at their child, and that is their choice,” said Book.
“When I got pregnant at 17 and I went to Planned Parenthood they said I would never be anything,” said Stragel, “so we can all stand here and cry on the floor with our stories. I believe life begins at conception, so this bill is giving someone 15 weeks to make that decision of whether or not they want to keep that baby.”
As they have for weeks, opponents have told personal stories of terminating a pregnancy after the timetable this bill would allow.
“That was an ectopic pregnancy, and I had to go get a procedure done,” said Sen. Annette Taddeo (D), who is also a candidate for governor.
“My anxiety and depression was growing extremely worse, and I was suicidal,” said a woman with a plaid blazer.
“I got a call from my midwife, and she says ‘It’s not that the tech wasn’t getting good pictures of his heart, that part of his heart is missing,'” said a woman in a navy shirt.
But not one proposed change passed the House, and it is unclear if any will be approved by the Senate.
“I believe life is precious from conception,” said Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez (R), Doral. “That’s my personal belief. However, I do believe that 15 weeks is sufficient time to make a decision as to whether or not you want to carry the pregnancy to full term or not.”
But Democrats’ efforts to change the bill all went nowhere, including the rape, incest and trafficking exception.
“The sponsors genuinely feel that 15 weeks, which is almost four months, is enough time when that happens,” said State Sen. Manny Diaz Jr (R), Hialeah. “It’s a tough topic to take on.”
“At what point do you decide a life is a life,” said Rodriguez.
“Obviously we’re the minority, you see the writing on the board,” said State Sen. Jason Pizzo (D), Aventura.
The strategy, it seemed, for Lighthouse Point Democrat Gary Farmer was to just eat up as much time of the Senate floor as possible.
“Pregnancies can happen a lot of different ways, sometimes life mimics art. It’s life-altering in so many, many, many different ways,” said Farmer.
Farmer said he is going to keep up with those long debates, long commentary hoping that he can change some minds.
Although the Republicans do have the numbers to pass the bill. That will likely happen Thursday afternoon.
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