Florida lame-duck State Senator David Simmons (R – Seminole County) quietly killed a pro-life bill in the legislature last week just 2 steps before it became law.
The bill, SB 1774, known as the “Parental Consent for Abortion Act” would have prohibited any physician in Florida from performing an abortion on a minor unless the physician has been presented with consent from the minor’s parent or guardian, providing an exception for a medical emergency .
The bill had already passed the State House and the first Senate committee when Senator Simmons pulled the plug preventing it from being heard in his committee Senate Judiciary. If it had been allowed to proceed from his committee it would have likely passed a floor vote in the Senate and then would have quickly been signed into law by pro-life Governor Ron DeSantis.
Activists closely involved in the pro-life effort wishing to remain anonymous blame Senator Simmons for stopping the bill.
The bill was supported by Florida Family Action Council, Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Florida Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Susan B. Anthony List, and Americans United for Life.
This is not the first time Senator Simmons has angered conservatives in his own party. Last year he strongly advocated for gun control in the notorious SB 7026 including pushing to strengthen the bill by preventing legal adults under the age of 25 from purchasing rifles.
In 1989, the Supreme Court of Florida struck down the parental consent for abortion law in Florida when it “discovered” that the privacy clause in the state constitution conferred a fundamental right to abortion to women, including minors. Since that ruling, every restriction on abortion that passes in the Florida Legislature is subject to judicial evaluation under this super powered abortion right – an even higher standard than under the US Constitution with Roe vs Wade. Many believe the Florida Supreme Court was wrong in error when it created this right to an abortion. Florida’s constitutional privacy right adopted in 1980 was specifically intended for informational privacy and not a right to abortion.
Senator Simmons is not up for re-election and his seat is being pursued by former State Rep. Jason Brodeur.
In 2010 Senator Simmons was elected to the Florida State Senate and then subsequently reelected. He was the Majority Whip, from 2010 to 2012.
Previously to that he had served in the Florida House of Representatives, from 2000 to 2008.
He currently serves as the Chair of the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee. Other committee assignments this session include Appropriations Committee, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Community Affairs Committee, Education Committee, and the Rules Committee
Other associations include serving on the Board of Trustees
of the Vanderbilt Law School Alumni Association. He is a member of the Greater
Orlando Area Chamber of Commerce, the Orange County Bar Association, and was
past President of the Orange County Young Republicans.
He attended Vanderbilt University Law School, graduating in 1977 and then moved
to Florida in the same year. He is a member of the American Bar Association and
the Florida Bar Association.
