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"ACLU to Commemorate Roe v. Wade Anniversary"
"Struggle to Defend Women's Access to Reproductive Health Care Continues"
December 2002 Edition of the ACLU of Florida Newsletter
By Larry Helm Spalding
Legislative Staff Counsel
Jeb Bush has never been shy about piercing the wall between church and state in pursuit of his policy objectives. The governor has successfully implemented the most extensive school voucher program in the nation ? a long-time goal of conservatives in Florida ? and may use a further expansion of the voucher system to address the class size amendment.
Florida also has been an early national leader in the use of faith-based organizations to deliver social services. The conservatives promise to expand government-funded religion in the second Bush administration.
Additionally, as one more concession to the religious right, Jeb Bush and the conservative majority have made clear their opposition to gay adoptions.
During his first administration, Jeb Bush made good on a promise
early in his governorship to limit abortion by any means at his disposal.
He signed a law banning dilation and extraction or "partial birth"
abortions and another requiring parental notification when a minor
chooses to have an abortion. Neither has been implemented because
of legal challenges. He also approved a specialty license plate with
the politically charged "Choose Life" message.
As we approach the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January
22, Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature are poised to add new regulations
for abortion clinics.
These could include requiring the clinics to hire a full-time anesthetist, to have special air-handling systems or making the clinics submit new equipment purchases or building plans to the state for approval. Another measure would increase reporting requirements for clinics.
Also on the religious right wish list are a state ban on human and embryonic cloning, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (giving legal status to a fetus hurt or killed during the commission of a crime), and the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (forbidding state and local government actions against hospitals or health-care workers who refuse to participate in abortions). The purpose of this legislation in the aggregate is to radically reduce, if not, eliminate reproductive choice in Florida.
When Florida Legislature 2003 convenes next March, we hope that you will join with the ACLU to oppose these measures by contacting your representative and state senator when these bills are heard.
Eternal Vigilance is Price of Liberty!
