Gov. Charlie Crist's veto of a politically volatile abortion bill was hotly denounced by his former party today, even before the governor's office announced the decision.
-- From "Crist vetoes abortion bill" by Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau posted at The Tallahassee Democrat 6/11/10
Crist has made no secret, all week, that he didn't like the bill requiring abortion providers to do ultrasound examinations and give women an opportunity to view the results before having the procedure. The bill (HB 1143) also included language that legislative Republicans wrote to prevent what they considered the possibility of federal funding being used for abortion in Florida, along with some provisions intended to thwart President Obama's national health care program.
Crist left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent on April 29. Well before then, House and Senate GOP leaders were warring with him over some major issues -- principally a bill that Crist vetoed, which would have abolished teacher tenure and linked salaries to student performance.
In his veto message, Crist said the bill "places an inappropriate burden on women seeking to terminate a pregnancy." Crist had called himself "pro-life" as a state legislator, Cabinet member and Republican governor but he said "personal views should not result in laws that unwisely expand the role of government and coerce people to obtain medical tests and procedures that are not medically necessary."
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