Tallahassee, Fla., Mar 9, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A proposed constitutional amendment, which would require doctors to notify the parents of minor girls seeking abortions at least 48 hours before the procedure, advanced through its first Senate committee yesterday to the Judiciary Committee.
The Health, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee approved the measure on a 9-3 vote, reported the Associated Press.
"If a child needs permission to go on a field trip to the zoo, then a child should at least notify the parent if she wants to terminate a pregnancy," said state Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla (R-Miami), according to AP.
If the measure is approved by three-fifths of each chamber, citizens will vote in November on whether the measure should become law.
The constitutional amendment is needed since the Florida Supreme Court ruled last year that a 1999 parental notice law violated privacy rights.