Florida Bill Would Make Abortion A Felony With A Maximum Sentence Of Life In Prison

[w8liftinglady]

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/01/04/397924/florida-bill-would-make-abortion-a-felony-with-a-maximum-sentence-of-life-in-prison/

Florida state Rep. Charles Van Zant (R) is starting 2012 with yet another radical effort to ban all abortions in the state unless the woman’s life is in danger. Declaring that “the Legislature acknowledges that all persons are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that first among these is their right to life,” the Florida for Life Act would essentially (and unconstitutionally) make it a felony to perform an abortion except when a physician meets very specific circumstances. The Florida Independent reports:

A termination of pregnancy may not be performed unless:

(a) Two physicians certify in writing to the fact that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the termination of pregnancy is necessary to prevent the death of the patient;

(b) Two physicians certify in writing to the fact that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the termination of pregnancy is necessary because to continue the pregnancy would unreasonably reduce the likelihood of successful treatment of a life-threatening disease of the patient; or

(c) A physician certifies in writing that a medical emergency existed and another physician was not available for consultation prior to the time necessary to perform the termination of pregnancy. The physician’s written certification must clearly describe the medical emergency.

The measure also mandates that doctors provide certain women and minors who have been treated by the facility with information regarding adoption and a statewide list of attorneys available to provide volunteer legal services for adoption.” If physicians fail to meet these stipulations or provide abortion services in any other case including rape or incest, they would face maximum penalty of life in prison.

[provis99]

1. how come everyone in the South I know named Van Zant is a caveman?

Is it a family thing to be a monumental jerk?

Apologies to any DUers named Van Zant, though I doubt they're out there...

[jberryhill]

5. The Dutch Reformed Church

A lot of them came here. They are the same ones who instituted apartheid in South Africa.

[Charlemagne]

19. Teddy's Church?

Well, he was a member but he was a true maverick. Interesting find. And that is true, the Boers were largely from that church. And to be fair, the Boers didnt create apartheid, it was a British invention that they bought into. The british were having lots of problems with them and they decided the 'divide and conquer' approach would work out. The Brits recruited their former adversaries and then the Dutch farmers maintained the system.

Finally, a major push for school phys ed was due to the state of British soldiers at the beginning of (one of the) Boer Wars. We adopted it to avoid similar problems. So if you hated gym, you can blame colonialism.

[KamaAina]

30. Ronnie wasn't

[no_hypocrisy]

2. What? No mandatory pregnancy test for every fertile female who's leaving the state to

ensure they're not crossing state lines to get an abortion?

[Cerridwen]

15. Give it time. The patriot act hasn't been fully tested yet. n/t

[mrmpa]

3. How fucked up are these legislators?

It is beyond the pale that these legislators want to disallow a woman's right to choose, however when these children are born these legislators will refuse them food, housing and a decent education.

[DonCoquixote]

27. of course!

That is because they will want them to work in planatations (aka farms) as slaves (aka migrant workers.)

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

[Cerridwen]

6. They're going after the doctors and not the women?

Interesting; in a machievellian sort of way.

It's only a felony to perform an abortion not to have an abortion. Uh, huh. They're still not quite able to make a woman who has an abortion the 'murderer' they'd so like to label them. Baby steps. I predict should this pass the women who obtain abortions will be next for the axe.

[greymattermom]

7. If abortion is murder

then having one is contract killing, i.e. paying someone to murder a person. Also murder.

[Cerridwen]

12. Using that (their) 'logic', I agree.

But it's political suicide to say they're going to bring the women up on murder or conspiracy to commit murder charges. That's why they're going after the doctors. Not too many doctors are going to want to risk it so no abortion providers means less access to safe abortions.

Ultimately, we'll start reading of women dying from back alley abortions or self-inflicted abortions and doctors bemoaning the fact there was nothing they could legally do. In other words, we're looking at a pre-Roe world.

Families may start to learn (again) what it's like to lose the 'mom' to ectopic pregnancies and other medical 'causes' of abortion.

[sufrommich]

11. Try asking any anti-choice person

about that, they won't answer. In their very cynical way, they know that making criminals out of the women who get the abortions would hurt their cause, therefore they stick with going after the doctors. I'm not sure they've ever jailed or charged women for getting abortions, even when it was illegal. It's like they know how far they can push before women push back. They figure if they can take away a womans ability to find a doctor that will perform an abortion, they've done what they set out to do.

[Cerridwen]

13. It would appear you and I are on the same page.

The same very ugly and cynical page.

[sufrommich]

16. Yep. Although I think you're right, if

they thought they could get away with imprisoning women for getting abortions, they most certainly would.

[Charlemagne]

20. The College Republicans

dont want their girlfriends charged with murder....just the doctor they pay to provide her an abortion.

[Newsjock]

8. Perhaps we need a bill ...

... that would make introducing clearly unconstitutional, un-American legislation to be a "Felony With A Maximum Sentence Of Life In Prison."

[Initech]

10. Now that I can get behind.

[Old and In the Way]

9. Totally insane.

When women have spontaneous abortions, will God be tried for murder in-abstentia? or will women also be tried as co-defendants?

Why not cut to the chase and create a law to put webcams in all bedrooms? That way they can be monitoring all acts of sex, so they can start protecting all of these blasto-citizens at the moment of conception.

When are the voters of Florida going to understand that the party who campaigns on small government is really the Party of the very biggest, most instrusive government imaginable?

[Bolo Boffin]

23. I'm thinking they should be charged with being a party to a fetal suicide.

If a blastocyst is a person, then they need to take some freaking responsibility for themselves, right?

[JoePhilly]

14. Didn't he die in a plane crash??

Oooops ... sorry ... I had a Rick Perry moment ...

[DefenseLawyer]

24. Freebird!!!!! n/t

[NYC Liberal]

17. The rich would just travel to another state to get an abortion.

Meanwhile, it would be the poor who either have to find the money to carry the fetus to term or risk their lives getting a back alley abortion (or doing it themselves).

More class warfare waged by the right wing fanatics.

[Charlemagne]

21. thats what people dont realize

it doesnt stop abortion, it just makes people go out of state.

[AnnieBW]

18. Well, at least they're finally being honest

They're coming out and showing their hands. Now we can prove that they're trying to establish a theocracy.

[RZM]

22. Probably has no chance of passing

I think last year there was a bill here in Ohio kind of like this. It was pretty radical and the goal was to force a supreme court challenge. Ohio Right to Life and the Catholic Church refused to support it because they believe in gradual steps and not all-out measures that are likely to get struck down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/health/policy/fetal-heartbeat-bill-splits-anti-abortion-forces.html?pagewanted=all

[spanone]

25. rick santorum advocates criminal charges for doctorsz

who perform abortions

[backscatter712]

26. Does this mean Florida's law enforcement would employ vagina inspectors?

They pretty much would have to in order to enforce this abomination.

[Warren DeMontague]

28. I was going to say; Thank God they're so close to El Salvador

they can just bring the Forensic Vagina Inspectors up from there.

[barbtries]

29. even if they could pass this ridiculous bill,

isn't it true that it could not become law? are they only introducing it as a way to get roe v wade overturned? this bill is just off the charts.

i'm a woman, and my body is MINE goddamit. i am so fucking sick of these fundy radicals.