To not really any surprise, Governor Charlie Crist this afternoon vetoed HB 1143, the health care bill that included a provision to require first trimester ultrasounds for women and girls undergoing abortion, although the patient could decline to view the image of their unborn child. The bill also banned government funding of abortion, responding to the uncertainty created by passage of the federal health care reform law earlier this year.
The legislation was the last bill that Crist needed to act upon, having been the final bill passed by the Legislature in late April, but not delivered until recently, as it was alleged that House Speaker Larry Cretul, who supported the bill, was hoping continued public pressure would make the governor ultimately sign the bill. The Governor's office had said that as Thursday evening, 36,000 people wrote or called in support of the bill, while 27,000 people asked for a veto (that prompted the bill's sponsor in the House, Republican Matt Hudson from Naples to gripe about how the "people's governor" could veto a bill that the majority of people supported. Then again, a recent poll found that the majority-55%- wanted Crist to veto).
It also comes just days after Crist removed the pro-life section of his campaign website.
The reaction from Florida Republican has been vituperative, as could have been expected after the governor left the party over a month and has seen him now on several high profile issues appeal to the center-left and not to the heart of where conservatives live.
This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2010.