FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tallahassee, FL: Today, the Florida House of Representatives passed HB 1517 — a dangerous and deceptive bill that does nothing to support grieving families and everything to advance a cruel political agenda. Here is Representative Eskamani’s statement in response:
“Let me be clear: Florida law already allows families to seek justice if they lose a pregnancy due to someone else’s negligence. That right exists today. But instead of strengthening support for families, this bill redefines embryos and fetuses as the legal equivalent of living children, creating a wave of new threats to health care access, personal freedom, and medical privacy.
We’ve seen how laws like this play out in other states:
- In Texas, they’ve been used by abusive partners to sue and intimidate people who support abortion care.
- In Arizona, they’ve been weaponized in court years after a procedure — not for justice, but for revenge.
- And in Alabama, they caused IVF services to shut down, leaving families devastated.
This bill opens the door to the same chaos and cruelty in Florida. It puts patients at risk of losing emergency care, fertility options, and life-saving treatments like cancer care — all because they’re pregnant.
Floridians are watching. They’re demanding we repeal the 6-week abortion ban and restore their freedom to make personal health care decisions. But today, politicians ignored the will of the people and pushed through a law that will only cause more fear, more confusion, and more harm. I voted no — because our constituents deserve compassion, not control. And I won’t stop fighting for a Florida where freedom means freedom for all of us.”