Dear Friends;
As many of you are aware, this past Thursday, March 16th, HB 7 (aka Heartbeat Bill) passed through it's first subcommittee in the House, unamened with a final vote of 13-5 with all pro-life Republican members in favor and all pro-abortion Democrats in opposition. Three pro-abortion amendments to the bill were introduced and defeated along the same party line margins.
---This is a NEW Grassroots Action Alert concerning House Bill (HB) 7 and Senate Bill (SB) 300 (Protection of Unborn Children in Florida After 6-Weeks’ Gestation). If you missed it, you may find all of the background information provided by Florida Voice for the Unborn here. (Thank you Andrew Shirvell, J.D, for this very pertinent information!)
Now, our attention must turn to the Senate, where SB 300 will get its first hearing today, Monday, March 20th at 3:30 p.m. before the Senate Health Policy Committee in the Pat Thomas Committee Room, 412 Knott Building, in the Capitol complex in Tallahassee.
***NEW URGENT GRASSROOTS ACTION ALERT: SB 300 (Protection of Unborn Children After 6-Weeks’ Gestation)
Please contact the sponsor of SB 300 as well as all of the pro-life members of the Senate Health Policy Committee and express all – or some – of the following points:
---As a Florida citizen, I back most of Senate Bill 300. However, I respectfully request that you amend section 3 of the bill so that ALL unborn children are legally protected in Florida. Life begins at conception – not at the moment a heartbeat is detectable, which is around 6-weeks’ gestation (the human heart actually starts beating at 18 days). Moreover, it is discriminatory to exclude children conceived as a result of rape or incest from the legal protections afforded other preborn children. We must hold the perpetrators of rape and incest accountable. The babies conceived as a result of rape or incest do not deserve to be executed for the crimes of their fathers. Also, I believe that the so-called “fatal fetal abnormality” exception should be removed from the bill. It is a gigantic loophole that targets children who are, more often than not, simply handicapped. Even when preborn children are correctly diagnosed with a terminal illness, it is immoral to “euthanize” them in-utero – just like it is immoral to euthanize a born child.
***Additionally, the unwarranted $5 million appropriation for the Department of Health's family planning program must be removed from section 7 of the bill. This provision is not included in the House companion legislation. Taxpayer money should not go towards funding contraception and possible abortifacients. This is far from being Pro-Life!
Here are the key phone numbers for the bill sponsor and for the pro-life Republican members of the Senate Health Policy Committee:
Bill Sponsor Senator Erin Grall: 850-487-5029
Chair Colleen Burton: 850-487-5012
Vice Chair Jason Brodeur: 850-487-5010
Senator Ben Albritton: 850-487-5027
Senator Bryan Avila: 850-487-5039
Senator Doug Broxson: 850-487-5001
Senator Danny Burgess: 850-487-5023
Senator Alexis Calatayud: 850-487-5038
Senator Ileana Garcia: 850-487-5036
Senator Gayle Harrell: 850-487-5031
Here are the key e-mail addresses (with semicolons separating them) for the bill sponsor, the pro-life members of the Senate Health Policy Committee, and all of their legislative aides:
Grall.Erin@flsenate.gov; Burton.Colleen@flsenate.gov; Brodeur.Jason@flsenate.gov; Albritton.Ben@flsenate.gov; Avila.Bryan@flsenate.gov; Broxson.Doug@flsenate.gov; Burgess.Danny@flsenate.gov; Calatayud.Alexis@flsenate.gov; Garcia.Ileana@flsenate.gov; Harrell.Gayle@flsenate.gov; Doster.Micah@flsenate.gov; Mielke.Marty@flsenate.gov; Stewart.Sharon@flsenate.gov; DeBow.Denise@flsenate.gov; Medley.Lara@flsenate.gov; Rembert.Brittany@flsenate.gov; Brodersen.Zack@flsenate.gov; Mohebpour.Victoria@flsenate.
Here are the key e-mail addresses (with commas separating them) for the bill sponsor, the pro-life members of the Senate Health Policy Committee, and all of their legislative aides:
Grall.Erin@flsenate.gov, Burton.Colleen@flsenate.gov, Brodeur.Jason@flsenate.gov, Albritton.Ben@flsenate.gov, Avila.Bryan@flsenate.gov, Broxson.Doug@flsenate.gov, Burgess.Danny@flsenate.gov, Calatayud.Alexis@flsenate.gov, Garcia.Ileana@flsenate.gov, Harrell.Gayle@flsenate.gov, Doster.Micah@flsenate.gov, Mielke.Marty@flsenate.gov, Stewart.Sharon@flsenate.gov, DeBow.Denise@flsenate.gov, Medley.Lara@flsenate.gov, Rembert.Brittany@flsenate.gov, Brodersen.Zack@flsenate.gov, Mohebpour.Victoria@flsenate.
Based on whatever works best with your own e-mail account, please cut and paste the addresses above into your “to” header in a separate message. Don’t forget to include a subject matter, such as “Amend SB 300 to Protect ALL Unborn Children,” and include the simple talking points above or any other points that you would like to communicate.
***Amendments to SB 300 can be filed up until the beginning of the committee hearing on Monday at 3:30 p.m. So continue e-mailing and leaving voicemail messages (if you cannot reach a live person) up until that time, including throughout this weekend. Our collective efforts will pay dividends in the long-run!
