A conservative Florida state legislator says that his support of a ban on abortions in the state — one of a series around the country criticized as draconian — was ordained by the Almighty.
Rep. Mike Hill says that God told him to sponsor a bill supporting a near-total ban on abortions by 2020.
The Pensacola News Journal reported that while speaking at a meeting for the Pensacola, Fla., group Women for Responsible Legislation on Thursday, the lawmaker told attendees that his plans to nearly ban all abortions in Florida was endorsed by God.
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“As plain as day, God spoke to me. He said that wasn’t my bill, talking about the heartbeat detection bill that I filed. He said that wasn’t my bill,” he said. “I knew immediately what he was talking about. He said, you remove those exceptions and you file it again. And I said yes Lord, I will. It’s coming back. It’s coming back. We are going to file that bill without any exceptions just like what we saw passed in Alabama.”
The bill in Florida would be similar to the one Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed off on earlier this month.
Back in March, the PNJ also reported that Hill sponsored a bill in the Florida legislature that would ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat were detected.
The initial proposal would lead to third-degree felony charges for any physician or “person who knowingly or purposefully performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human being whose fetal heartbeat has been detected,” with limited exceptions in situations where the woman’s life is at risk.
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Although Hill’s original bill picked up 20 co-sponsors, it died without ever getting a hearing in any committee, the publication reported.