Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow parents to file wrongful death lawsuits over the loss of a fetus.
The proposal would implicate a fetus at any stage of development: “In the same way that the parents would be permitted to recover in the event of the wrongful death of a minor child,” said Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach.
Grall is the sponsor of the bill, SB 164, which a Senate panel narrowly approved on Tuesday. It still has a long way to go through the Florida Capitol, as does the House version of the legislation, HB 289.
Similar legislation has failed over the last couple of years.
The bill says wrongful death action can't be brought against a mother. It also says the same for medical providers for “lawful medical care provided in compliance with the applicable standard of care,” including related to “assisted reproductive technologies.”
Democrats said the bill was too broad and could open up the floodgates to lawsuits
They worried it could be used by fathers to target friends or family members who assist a mother in getting an abortion. They were concerned similar pressure may also be put on the medical field.
"It seems like it's a benign civil liability bill, but I really don't think it is," said Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Delray Beach. "I think it will have very, very adverse effects on our doctors. It will lead to more lawsuits."
Grall disagreed with Berman: "This would codify and make clear in our Wrongful Death Act that, in fact, these children are covered if they should die at the fault of someone else," she said.
Both Democrats present at the Tuesday meeting voted against the legislation. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 5-4 vote.
Two Republicans also voted against the bill, including Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. This shows the bill is in peril again, since Passidomo is the chair of the Senate Rules Committee.
She declined to comment after the meeting.
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This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
