The controversial measure could be among the first blockbuster bills either signed or vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott. Critics have decried H.B. 1355 as a voter suppression measure, and warned it would stifle efforts to register new voters.
The so-called Personhood movement, though once labeled extreme by even conservative groups in Florida, is gaining traction across the country. In Mississippi, the group's efforts have paid off — a Personhood amendment, which seeks to ban abortion (and could ban some forms of birth control) will be on the state's November ballot. Recent reports indicate the group is now seeking signatures in Ohio, in an effort to place a similar abortion ban on that state's ballot.
