Bill expanding Wrongful Death Act to cover fetuses ready for House floor

The House Judiciary Committee has advanced a bill that’s drawing familiar foes from last year’s abortion debate.

This time, the legislation would expand Florida’s Wrongful Death Act so parents could collect damages if their unborn child dies, no matter at what stage of development the fetus is.

Rep. Sam Greco’s legislation (HB 289) passed through the committee with a 14-6 vote down party lines. The bill’s next stop is the House floor.

“I ask you to support this bill to support those mothers, to support those parents in the worst moments of their life when they have no other recourse,” said Greco, a St. Augustine Republican, before the vote. He described unborn children dying in car crashes as an example of cases that could be brought under the bill. 

To fall under the Wrongful Death Act, the death would need to involve a wrongful act, negligence, breach of contract or other factors, he said.

Greco stressed that mothers could not be found liable for their own unborn child’s death, and medical providers couldn’t be sued unless they were negligent and caused the death of a fetus.

But Democrats and other advocates said they feared that the bill could be weaponized in a variety of ways.

“We have grave concerns about the real world impacts of this overly broad bill,” said Kara Gross, interim Political Director of the ACLU of Florida. “Given that approximately 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a miscarriage, this bill is ripe for abuse.”

She also pointed to a Texas lawsuit where a man sued the friends of his ex-wife who helped her access abortion pills to terminate her pregnancy. 

Republicans downplayed their concerns. 

“There are 43 other states in this country, both blue and red, that have this law on the books. And there’s a reason why, because if you commit negligence and the loss of life occurs … there should be justice for that,” said Rep. Hillary Cassel, a former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party last year and voted in support of the bill. 

Tuesday’s vote was the final committee stop for HB 289. The Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee approved HB 289 in a 13-3 vote last month.