Alabama abortion law: Could it happen in Florida? | Rangel

Editor's note: This column was updated to include that a Florida lawmaker wants to sponsor a bill to similar to Alabama's abortion ban and to clarify Rep. Thad Altman's position on the Alabama law. 

The passage of laws restricting abortion in states such as Alabama and Georgia has sent a message to conservatives everywhere: this is your opportunity to challenge Roe v. Wade. 

Will Florida — a state considered purple in presidential elections but whose government is controlled by Republicans — be next? 

Our lawmakers have for years tried to make it harder for women to get abortions by imposing such regulations as waiting periods. Florida never got close to passing something like Alabama's new law that bans almost all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. A bill to prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected died in the Florida Legislature this year without any hearings. Sponsor Rep. Mike Hill on Thursday said God told him to sponsor a bill similar to Alabama's next year.

Our state's purple makeup likely will present challenges to future efforts, especially in an election year such as 2020. Republicans will have to calculate the risk of a showdown over the issue when they are trying to re-elect President Trump and themselves.

Lawmakers from conservative communities like Brevard County would like to see more abortion restrictions, but state Republican Rep. Thad Altman told me he doesn't believe the Legislature will go as far as Alabama did when public opinion is against completely banning abortions.  

"Florida's approach has been more of an incremental approach," said Altman, who represents south-central Brevard. "Going too far too fast may cause a backlash."

Two-thirds of Americans want the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court ruling to remain in place, according to a CBS News poll released Tuesday. While support for abortion rights is overwhelming among Democrats, almost half of Republicans would like to see it overturned. When asked if abortion should be available but with limits, 48 percent of Republicans say it should.

Florida is 'middle-ground' for abortions

Altman said he wouldn't have voted for the Alabama bill because it didn't make exceptions for incest and rape. Brevard's GOP Sen. Debbie Mayfield and Rep. Tyler Sirois also support such exceptions. Mayfield told me she doesn't how she would have voted if that bill came up in Florida because she doesn't know its details. Sirois said he would have voted "yes" on it.

"I think a lot of the ills we have as a society is kind of this attitude we have taken toward the value of human life and the value of one another and how precious life is," Sirois said. "I would jump on the opportunity to work on that legislation."

Florida is considered a "middle-ground" state on abortion access, according to an analysis of state laws by the Guttmacher Institute, which promotes reproductive rights. States were ranked from "very hostile" to "very supportive." Florida allows abortions for up to 24 weeks. 

The heartbeat bill

Altman and Mayfied were among the nearly 30 co-sponsors of this year's failed fetal heartbeat legislation. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he would have signed that bill if it had passed. Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio have passed similar laws that are expected to face legal challenges that could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court, where President Trump's appointments make-up a conservative majority.

Heartbeat laws are essentially abortion bans because a heartbeat can be detected as early as five to six weeks, when many women don't know they are pregnant.

Republican bill sponsor Sen. Dennis Baxley of Lake County told the Sun Sentinel this week that if courts uphold abortion laws passed in other states that will boost efforts in Florida. 

Whether the heartbeat bill becomes law next year, if reintroduced, will depend on Republicans' calculation of whether it should be a priority in an election year. Less restrictive approaches, however, might have a better chance. This year's bill to require parental consent for teenagers seeking an abortion made it a lot farther. It cleared the Florida House but didn't get a floor vote in the Senate. 

In fact, chipping away at abortion access has been Florida's strategy. A 2015 law required women to wait 24 hours and have two doctor visits before the procedure. The Florida Supreme Court temporarily blocked the law in 2017 and in 2018 a Leon County circuit judge permanently blocked it. DeSantis' appointment of conservative justices to the state's highest court has given anti-abortion activists new hope that future laws will be upheld.

The question isn't whether Florida will take additional steps to restrict abortions, but how far our lawmakers are willing to go and whether the backlash from activists and voters will be enough to stop them. 

Isadora Rangel is FLORIDA TODAY's public affairs and engagement editor and a member of the Editorial Board. Her columns reflect her opinion. Readers may reach her at irangel@floridatoday.com, by phone at 321-242-3631 or via Facebook at /IsadoraRangel.