February 25, 2010, Gainesville Sun / Ocala Star Banner
Abortion providers, people who assist them, and operators of clinics where abortions occur could receive long prison sentences under a new bill that mandates a wide-ranging ban on the procedure.
The bill, offered recently by state Rep. Charles Van Zant, a Keystone Heights Republican whose district spans much of eastern Marion County, makes performing or assisting in an abortion a first-degree felony, which is punishable by up to life in prison.