Polk legislators join DeSantis in celebration after passage of six-week abortion ban

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday night banning abortions after six weeks, two Polk County legislators were standing near him.

In a photo of the signing released by DeSantis’ office, Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, stands just behind the governor’s right shoulder as he sits at his desk. Sen. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, is posed just beyond DeSantis’ left elbow. Both wear exultant expressions, as do most of the other legislators in the photo, the majority of them women.

Canady, a first-term legislator, served as one of two main sponsors on HB 7, along with Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, who introduced the bill on the opening day of the legislative session.

The House voted 70-40 Thursday to approve a matching Senate version of the measure, SB 300, with most Republicans voting in favor and most Democrats opposing it. Among Polk County’s House members, Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade, and Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City, joined Canady in voting for the bill.

Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, was among a handful of Republicans who voted against the measure, labeled the “Heartbeat Protection Act” by Senate sponsors.

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The Senate had previously approved the bill in a 26-13 vote, as Burton and Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, voted with the majority.

DeSantis held a private signing ceremony in his office late Thursday, in contrast to the public events he often stages to sign high-priority legislation. DeSantis is expected to launch a campaign for president after the legislative session ends in May.

Killebrew voted last year to approve a bill barring abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, as did the other members of the Polk County delegation, all of them Republicans.

The six-week restriction includes exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, with the pregnant person required to provide a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record or other court order or documentation.

The law also allows abortions if a pregnancy poses a risk to a woman’s life or “a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.” In such cases, two doctors must certify the need for the abortion in writing.

An abortion would also be allowed if two doctors certified in writing that the fetus has a fatal abnormality, though only before the third trimester.

Canady did not respond to a request for comment made Friday morning.

Burton was not a co-sponsor of the Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, but she has sponsored other bills creating restrictions on abortion during her time in the legislature.

“I am proud to have voted for Senate Bill 300, the Heartbeat Protection Act, and witness the Governor signing the measure into law," Burton said in an emailed statement. "This legislation expands pro-life protections, providing for exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, human trafficking, and maintains current exceptions for the life and health of the mother and for cases of fatal fetal anomalies. It also provides pregnancy support and wellness, including additional funding for parenting services, educational materials and other resources for young mothers and families."

The newly passed law is contingent upon a court ruling in a challenge to the 15-week ban passed last year. Courts have previously held that a provision in the Florida Constitution guaranteeing a right to privacy covers access to abortions.

The Florida Supreme Court is reviewing the lawsuit filed by abortion providers. Canady’s husband, Charles Canady of Lakeland, is a Supreme Court justice.

Jennifer Canady, a teacher at Lakeland Christian School, described herself as “pro-life” while running for office last year but declined to say specifically whether she would seek or support further restrictions on abortion. When interviewed by a Ledger reporter a week before the session began, Canady would not commit to promoting a six-week abortion ban, saying, “I am just waiting to see the bills.”

Bell said before the session that she was satisfied with the 15-week abortion law passed last year and didn’t see the need for further action. Reached Friday morning, she said she favored the six-week ban because she believes life begins at conception.

“I was good with the 15 weeks, but I'm also, I'm very pro-life as a Christian and I have to stand on my beliefs,” Bell said. “And since they put in there this time with (exceptions for) rape, incest and the dangers to the mother, then I was OK.”

Opponents of the bill say that many women don’t know they are pregnant until more than six weeks past the last menstrual cycle, but Bell said she thinks most pregnancies are detected by about two weeks.

Bell said she considered the comments she heard from opponents of the bill before the vote.

“There was a lot of great testimony on the floor from the other side, which I certainly sat there and listened to for eight hours — I believe it was eight,” she said. “I have compassion for people that don't know that they're pregnant till after six weeks or whatever, and the ones with issues. However, I have to say, I'm put in this position for a reason, and I have to stand with my beliefs as a Christian.”

Killebrew and Tomkow did not respond to phone messages left Friday morning.

Some proponents of abortion rights from Polk County traveled to Tallahassee in recent weeks to join protests against the abortion bills. Two of them — Tsi Smyth of Winter Haven and Kyle Moore of Lakeland — were arrested last week outside Tallahassee City Hall along with Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, and Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Five Polk legislators vote for measure blocking abortions after 6 weeks