TALLAHASSEE (FBW)-The Florida House of Representatives gave a tentative nod March 11 to a bill calling for an amendment that would enact legislation requiring parents to be notified if a minor seeks an abortion.

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Not to be confused with parental consent, the parental notification amendment is a response to a ruling last summer by the Florida Supreme Court that found a 1999 law requiring a minor's parents be notified a violation of that minor's constitutional right to privacy.

Passing muster by the House Judiciary Committee who voted 17-2 in favor of HB 001, the version of the bill is carefully worded to fall just short of specifying a judicial bypass applying to cases of rape or incest.

This language might create problems for the bill, according to a legislator who told the Orlando Sentinel they believe a judicial-bypass should be inclued in the amendment.

"I will support parental notification--with adequate judicial bypass," Rep. Jack Seiler (D-Wilton Manors) told a Sentinel reporter.

Many have predicted there is a consensus among lawmakers to pass the legislation, but still some ambivalence as to whether the amendment should contain more specific wording.

According to The Miami Herald, constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, hired by the House to draft the amendment, believes the amendment should be simple and empower the legislature to pass a notification law which can be adjusted over time without the need of voter approval.

Specific statutory language, he said, could subject the law to challenges in state and federal court.

Sponsor of the House version of the bill, Speaker of the House Johnnie Byrd (R-Plant City), told the Tallahassee Democrat he believes though the two versions of the bill are different, the House and the Senate can come together.

"What you see is the process of legislators reaching consensus," Byrd said. "They're all trying to get there; it's just a matter of how we get there."

Byrd initially supported a broader response to the State Supreme Court's decision, HJR 159, which would have sought to amend Florida's Constitution to ensure "parents have a fundamental right to raise, education and care for their children."

State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) told Florida Baptist Witness March 15, he believed the broader bill would be more effective.

"I preferred the track of the platform of parental rights," Baxley said, indicating the privacy measure needs "clarification saying it doesn't apply to parents and their children.

"The most important legislation [this session] is the parental rights amendment and anything we can do to empower parents in light of our courts' ruling on the privacy clause," Baxley said. "I'm afraid that privacy clause can be applied in many other situations."