Florida House votes to ban dismemberment abortions

The Florida House of Representatives has voted 72-42 to ban dismemberment abortion, or D&E. HB 1429 had wide support, with even some Democrats voting in favor of the ban. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach).

Planned Parenthood, unsurprisingly, is opposing the bill. Missy Wesolowski from Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood said on WUSF:

WUSF reports that “[a]ffiliates of Planned Parenthood believe the bill has no medical basis and puts women’s health at risk,” with a representative calling the bill “put[ting] politics over health care.” The idea of putting women’s health “at risk” by banning a procedure that dismembers not the woman, but the living human being residing within the uterus, is rather stunning. The text of the bill defines the legislation:

Former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino describes the D&E (or dismemberment abortion) in the video below:

2nd Trimester Surgical Abortion: Dilation and Evacuation (D & E)

In a November hearing in Texas on the same issue:

US News reports that “House Democrats opposed the bill because they said it would present more obstacles to women seeking legal abortions.” However, since the law does not ban abortion or even second trimester abortion, it is unclear how it would make abortion more of an obstacle. US News reports that 5,192 (7.4 percent) of Florida abortions occur during the second trimester.

READ: When two reporters decided to watch a D&E dismemberment abortion, this is what they saw

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Grall, explains that the bill is not about outlawing abortion or even making it harder to get an abortion; rather, it is about preventing an even more inhumane procedure:

The bill has yet to be heard by the Senate, and thus far, does not seem likely to pass that chamber. Grall and the 71 others who have voted for this hope that will change quickly, before the session closes next week.