Florida House passes bill requiring 24-hour waiting period for abortions

[April 23, 2015]  By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - The Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a measure that would require women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours between a medical briefing and performance of the procedure.

The bill is expected to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate as soon as this week, and Republican Governor Rick Scott has expressed support for it.

If enacted, Florida would join 24 other U.S. states requiring women to wait at least 24 hours before getting an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. A Tennessee bill requiring a 48-hour waiting period has passed the state legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature.

The Florida House voted 77-41 in favor of the measure, with most Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

"I'm here today as an advocate of those women who are being pressured to have abortions," State Representative Jennifer Sullivan, a Republican, said of her bill. "This empowers women to reflect on that decision, based on a face-to-face consultation with their doctors."

Florida House Democratic leader Mark Pafford said the measure is one in a long line of obstacles put in place by conservative Republicans to make it harder for women to have abortions.

"It's death by a thousand cuts," he said. "A period of reflection sounds nice, but this is effectively a 24-hour ban on abortion."

The bill was amended to waive the waiting period in cases of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking.

Also on Wednesday, a North Carolina House committee voted to extend the state's waiting period for an abortion to 72 hours from 24 hours, local media reported.

(Editing by Jonathan Kaminsky and Mohammad Zargham)

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