By Laura Goodhue, Campaign Manager, Florida Planned Parenthood PAC
Most Floridians want to preserve our privacy rights and protect at risk young people and access to safe and legal abortion. Republican majorities in the Florida Legislature clearly don’t care.
Last week the Senate, and now today the House, voted for Senate Bill 404 / House Bill 265. If signed into law, this bill will restrict access to abortion, put at risk youth in even greater danger and open up our constitution to being reinterpreted by a rightwing Florida Supreme Court.
The passage of the forced parental consent bill was opposed by every credible medical organization, by health care providers and by many of the young people who will be impacted. But it sounded good in an election year so now the bill to force children to have children against their will is headed to the governor’s desk.
It’s clear these Republicans only care about election year politics. If they really cared about keeping our young people safe they would have supported practical and compassionate amendments to make the judicial bypass system less intimidating and more accessible. But they don’t.
Message received.
That’s why we’re mobilizing an unprecedented campaign to register, educate and turn out Floridians who will vote to hold these politicians accountable. So, legislators, if you voted for this assault on our rights and our health we have a message for you – we’ll see you at the polls.”
Information on the PAC
Leading up to this year’s election, the Florida Planned Parenthood PAC staff and volunteers will knock on more than 160,000 doors and conduct 500 trainings and events as part of a $2.5 million campaign. All told, the plan calls for contacting millions of Floridians through a vast, volunteer-led field effort, a paid digital campaign and direct mail.
In addition to defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, the Florida Planned Parenthood PAC will focus on electing two more reproductive rights champions to the Florida Senate, with the goal of moving closer to an even 20-20 split in that chamber. The PAC will mobilize nearly 800,000 supporters across the state to hold elected officials accountable for their bad votes on reproductive rights, particularly the forced parental consent for abortion bill.