Republican Bill Would Let Some Parents Sue for Fetuses’ Funeral Costs

The Florida House of Representatives advanced a bill that would allow parents to file wrongful-death lawsuits on behalf of fetuses.

Newsweek reached out to state Representative Sam Greco, the Republican who introduced the legislation, for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Critics have said the bill, HB 1517, could be an attempt at a backdoor abortion ban. Republican states have cracked down on reproductive rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending nationwide protection for abortions. Proponents of the bill, however, say it is not intended to crack down on reproductive rights and is meant to support grieving parents.

The bill passed the Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday.

What To Know

The bill would authorize “parents of an unborn child to recover certain damages” through wrongful-death lawsuits. Greco, the bill’s sponsor, told news site Florida Politicsthat it would allow “grieving parents to recover in the tragic circumstance in which they wrongfully lose their unborn child.”

This means wrongful-death lawsuits involving fetuses would be treated similarly to those involving children, though the bill does prohibit the parents from receiving some damages when the deceased is an unborn child, according to a Senate analysis of the bill.

According to the analysis, the bill would extend the Wrongful Death Act to include fetuses “in the same way that other survivors may generally recover under the Act.” This means parents could sue “for their mental pain and suffering from the date of injury,” as well as certain medical expenses and funerals.

The Senate study of the bill adds: “Under the bill, the parents in such a wrongful death suit could potentially recover damages allowed by the Act, including the value of future loss of support and services, reduced to present value; mental pain and suffering; and already-paid medical or funeral expenses.”

The bill states that a wrongful-death lawsuit may not be brought against the mother of the fetus or a medical provider “for lawful medical care provided in compliance with the applicable standard of care.”

Critics view it as an attempt to target those who may help a woman obtain an abortion.

What They’re Saying

The ACLU of Florida, in a statement: “As written, the bill would also incentivize civil lawsuits for damages against the friends and family members who supported a pregnant person’s efforts to access abortion care. Additionally, it would allow any individual who impregnated another person to sue for the wrongful death of a fetus without obtaining the consent of the pregnant person who lost her pregnancy.”

State Representative Allison Tant, a Democrat, to Florida Politics:“It is devastating to lose a pregnancy. I know because I’ve lost three. We are going to see lawsuits like we’ve never seen. They’re going to go through the roof.”

Greco, in remarks reported by news site Florida Phoenix: “But when a terrible tragedy like the loss, the wrongful loss, of an unborn child occurs because of wrongfulness, because of a wrongful act, mothers, parents, should have the ability to seek to be made whole in those circumstances.”

What Happens Next

The bill now requires passage in the Florida Senate, then signing by Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to become law. It’s unclear whether it will receive that support.