Gov. Bush Signs Parental Notification and Clinic Regulation Bills

By Liz Townsend

   Florida Gov. Jeb Bush recently signed two bills championed by pro-lifers: one requiring the notification of a parent when a minor girl seeks an abortion and one tightening regulations in clinics performing second- and third-trimester abortions.

   The Parental Notice of Abortion Act, signed by Bush May 25, finally became law after voters in November 2004 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to pass such a bill. When unmarried girls 17 or younger seek an abortion, the abortionist must notify one parent “in person or by phone 48 hours before the abortion or, if that’s not possible, by certified mail 72 hours in advance,” according to the Associated Press (AP).

   “This bill puts parents back in the driver’s seat,” Lynda Bell, spokeswoman for Florida Right to Life, told NRL News. “It took the will of the voters combined with the will of legislators to protect the rights of parents and the safety of young girls who need their parent’s guidance and support.”

   The act includes bypass procedures, waiving notice for a medical emergency or with a judge’s order.

   Gov. Bush signed a similar parental notification bill in 1999, but it was declared unconstitutional by Florida courts. The courts had declared that the bill violated the state constitution’s privacy guarantees.

   After 65% of Florida voters approved the amendment stating that the privacy right does not extend to parental notification of a minor’s abortion, the legislature overwhelmingly passed a new law, by 36–3 in the Senate and 96–14 in the House.

   Another bill signed by Bush in May, the Women’s Health and Safety Act, authorized the state Agency for Health Care Administration to enforce tighter rules governing abortion clinics.

   Almost three dozen women in Florida needed hospital care after second-trimester abortion complications in the last six months of 2004, according to the AP.

   “Why should the standards of surgical procedures be any less in the case of abortion?” asked Bell. “So-called ‘women’s groups’ who oppose such legislation clearly show their motivation: making a profit from the tragedy of abortion at the expense of women’s safety.”

   Both bills go into effect July 1.