BOCC to Send Abortion Policy Inquiry to State AG

BRADENTON – At a county commission meeting Tuesday, Manatee County Commissioners voted 4-3 to send a politically-charged letter that will accompany an inquiry from the county attorney's office to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, requesting an opinion on whether a fetal heartbeat ordinance in the county would be allowed by the Florida constitution.

Commissioner James Satcher first proposed such an ordinance in June. A majority of board members agreed that rather than proceed with an ordinance that could bring expensive legal battles, it would be more prudent to seek an AG opinion as the first step. Satcher, however, crafted a letter himself that was to accompany the CAO inquiry. Several commissioners took issue (watch a video of Satcher reading the letter below).

Commissioner Misty Servia (R-Dist. 4) said that it read more like a lobbying statement and that while she supported an inquiry from the CAO, any such letter should be on Satcher's own letterhead. Commissioner Carol Whitmore objected to numerous aspects of the letter and also felt the matter should be limited to the CAO inquiry.

Commissioner Reggie Bellamy (D-Dist 1) said that he felt men should not be making decisions about women's bodies and that there were other areas they should be focusing their time and resources on including, affordable housing, infrastructure, homelessness, and veterans issues.

When it became clear that commissioners Vanessa Baugh, George Kruse, and Kevin Van Ostenbridge supported the letter, Whitmore offered what is called a hostile amendment, requesting that Satcher's letter be removed from the motion and it be limited to the CAO's inquiry. Servia seconded the motion, and it went to public comment.

Ahead of the vote, Commissioner Whitmore shared some deeply personal aspects of her own life, including that she had become pregnant from a "non-consensual“ encounter when she was 17 years old, in 1973, following Roe v Wade, which had been decided that January. Whitmore said that she had the pregnancy aborted and that while it was a horrible experience, she remained pro-choice.

Nonetheless, Whitmore's amendment failed 2-5, with Bellamy explaining that he would not be supporting the ordinance in any form, including an inquiry.

Satcher's motion then passed 4-3 with Whitmore, Servia, and Bellamy dissenting. The board then took a 10-minute recess. When it resumed, Van Ostenbridge immediately moved to send the same letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, and Speaker of the Florida House, Chris Sprowls. The motion passed 6-1 with Bellamy dissenting.