Fabián Basabe withdraws 12-week abortion ban proposal after no Democrat supports it

Image via Florida House.

Rep. Fabián Basabe has aborted a bill.

The Miami Beach Republican withdrew a measure Tuesday that would have allowed Florida women to terminate their pregnancies up to 12 weeks after fertilization, rather than the six-week limit GOP lawmakers passed in April.

Basabe yanked the measure (HB 93), which he described as a compromise between the state’s current 15-week ban and the six-week one still pending a Florida Supreme Court ruling, seven weeks after he filed it.

The reason he canceled the legislation, he said, is because he lacked the necessary support. No Democratic lawmaker would help him bring it to term.

“I needed the support of my Democratic colleagues in the Florida House of Representatives to bring this bill to fruition,” he said in a statement. “While 16 out of 35 expressed interest, none were able to officially (sign on).”

Basabe said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell barred party members from engaging in “collaboration across party lines.”

“It is disheartening to witness this type of selfishness and obstruction of progress, especially when it concerns the well-being of women,” he said. “I am unable to advance my proposed bill under these circumstances, so I am withdrawing it.”

After the Legislature approved the six-week ban this year, Basabe issued a lengthy, scolding statement blaming Democrats’ unwillingness to compromise then on a 12-week alternative to the restrictive measure.

“So, thank you, Democrats, for forcing six weeks down our throats and that of an entire state! It could have been 12!” he wrote. “You did not budge, not one day, not one minute … And for that, I shame you.”

No Democrat voted for the six-week ban. Nine Republican lawmakers — Sens. Alexis Calatayud and Corey Simon and Reps. Mike Caruso, Karen Gonzalez Pittman, Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Sam Killabrew, Chip LaMarca, Vicki Lopez and Rick Roth — joined them in voting against it.

Ten other legislators, including Basabe, did not vote on the bill. But voted against dozens of amendments to soften its impact.

In place of the aborted 12-week ban, Basabe filed HB 629, which if passed would require the state to place historical markers across Florida recognizing the contributions of 100 women within the next decade.

To decide who would be honored, the measure would also provide for the establishment of an 11-person “Women’s Historical Marker Selection Committee.”

“To all the women who navigate the ongoing debate over their reproductive rights, please understand that I have always supported and will continue to advocate for your right to make a respectful choice about your own body,” he said. “While this new bill serves a different purpose, it underscores the importance of common sense and respectful collaboration in the legislative process.”