Rights to abortion, privacy could diminish under proposed constitutional amendment
TALLAHASEE -- Abortion restrictions would face fewer legal hurdles in Florida, and the state’s unique right to privacy would be significantly narrowed, under a proposal that was advanced by a key committee of the Constitution Revision Commission Thursday.
Under Proposal 22, approved Thursday by a 4-3 vote of the CRC Declaration of Rights Committee, the existing privacy right is narrowed from giving every person the right “to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life” to restricting government intrusion to only “information and the disclosure of that information.”
The CRC is the 37-member board that has the power to put amendments directly on the November 2018 ballot. If approved by the full commission in March, the measure would appear before voters.
If adopted, parental consent and 24-hour waiting periods on abortion — laws thrown out by Florida courts in recent years because of the current privacy clause — could be restored, said John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney and sponsor of the measure who has been a longtime anti-abortion advocate.
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