GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly passed a bill Tuesday 5-4 in Tallahassee that would expand Florida’s Wrongful Death Act to allow parents to recover damages from individuals responsible for the death of an unborn child.
The legislation, sponsored by Republican Sen. Erin Grall of Fort Pierce, would broaden the types of damages recoverable, including medical and funeral expenses and compensation for emotional suffering, whether the unborn child’s death, caused by a negligent act, is classified as stillbirth or miscarriage.
Under current Florida law, parents may seek damages only for what is described as a wrongful stillbirth if the fetus were at least 20 weeks along, and those damages are limited to mental anguish and pregnancy-related medical costs.
It wasn’t immediately clear what effect, if any, the language in the bill would have on Florida’s raging debate over abortion rights. The state has a ban on abortions for pregnancies beyond six weeks. Declaring a fetus that is only hours old to be an unborn child could re-open the abortion debate.
The bill broadens the legal rights to sue in civil court, redefining “unborn child” as a human child at any gestational age, and would allow parents to pursue the full range of damages available in wrongful death cases.
“We have determined that life is worth protecting at six weeks in Florida, and this makes it consistent,” Grall said.
The bill also would shield mothers and health care providers from being sued in these cases, as long as the care provided was lawful and met medical standards. The measure covers procedures involving assisted reproductive technologies as well.
“What if the mother does not have an interest in pursuing a case?” said Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton said. “It seems to me that in this bill, the father can pursue the case, the father, the sperm donor, the rapist, the abuser, the whoever.”
“Talk about infantilizing women,” said Polsky, one of two Democrats who voted against the bill. “They want women to have no control because it’s the fertilized embryo who has the rights and not the mother.”
The bill also raised concerns among medical providers, including Dorinda Nance, a Tallahassee-based nurse with 40 years of experience.
“How can I as a provider do what I need to do and give care?" said Nance. “Abortion care is health care. Fetuses and embryos are not babies and children.”
John Labriola, who works for the Christian Family Coalition, said it is the third time the bill has been introduced.
“This bill will recognize that the unborn children does have value, and we ask you to vote for it,” Labriola said.
If signed into law, the bill would take effect July 1, making Florida the 16th state to allow recovery at any stage of pregnancy.
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