Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on SB 404, a new parental consent bill designed to thwart the will of the people in protecting privacy rights.
In 1980, Florida voters created a state constitutional right to privacy. Nine years later, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled the state’s newly enacted parental consent law on abortion was unconstitutional — it violated our state constitution’s privacy rights.
In 2012, voters were asked to weaken their own rights on privacy and, unsurprisingly, flatly rejected the idea. Now the State Senate continues to move forward with a new parental consent bill that Republican lawmakers’ hope will finally undo the will of the people.
Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, released the following statement:
“Governor Ron DeSantis has made curtailing reproductive rights a top priority this session, and Senate Republicans have wasted no time to push bills designed to thwart women’s rights over our own bodies. SB 404 is not about protecting children, it is about usurping the will of Florida voters, attacking women’s rights, and making it harder for women and girls to control their own bodies. The Republican assault on women’s privacy has to stop!”
