The Florida state senate for this pair of stupid/disgusting laws it just passed:
One bans insurance policies purchased under the health care exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act from covering abortion. The other? A constitutional amendment to ban public funding and “exempt abortion from the Florida Constitution’s strong privacy right.”
The fact that both federal and state law already prohibit public funding for abortion didn’t stop 27 senators from insisting it be enshrined in the state’s constitution — three more than needed to put it on the 2012 ballot, where it must be approved by voters in order to proceed. The unfortunate redundancy of the measure was completely lost on the amendment’s sponsor, state Sen. Anitere Flores (R), who said, “Should Floridians be forced to pay for something that they don’t agree with? I think the answer is no.”
As I said on the podcast this week, it's all pandering to stupids. They don't care that there's already a ban on funding on the books. They just want to make it seem as if they're doing something new for the wingnut agenda. Oh, and the privacy thing? Florida is already a police state. The amendment doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Good effing luck if you're forced to live in that panhandle of awfulness.