Help foment the political civil war in Florida. Write to Crist and tell him to veto abortion

bill which REQUIRES women to pay for an ultrasound before having an abortion.

Here is some info from the Orlando Sentinel:

TALLAHASSEE — Planned Parenthood and other abortion-rights groups are staging press events in four cities today urging Gov. Charlie Crist to veto a controversial bill mandating that women seeking an abortion pay for an ultrasound first.

Foes of the abortion bill are holding press conferences in Orlando, South Florida and the capital city, where state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, deplored how the proposal was rushed through the Legislature during the final week of the two-month session.

“This bill was passed in an intrusive way,” she said.

But all told, supporters of House Bill 1143 have applied more pressure on Crist’s office to sign the bill than those urging a veto. The governor’s office through Wednesday had received 2,454 phone calls supporting the bill and 938 opposed to it. The letters streaming in were similarly tilted, with 10,484 in support of the bill and 6,977 opposed.

Letters and e-mails to the governor’s office are often times highly orchestrated mass e-mail and form-letter productions – hardly a scientific measurement of public sentiment — but since we’re keeping score, the totals so far are 12,938 supporters and 7,915 people opposed to the bill.

The public-relations maneuvering is also a bit early. The Legislature’s presiding officers still have to sign off on the measure before it gets officially sent to Crist’s desk, starting the 15-day clock for him to act.

Although the governor said he had “concerns” with the bill the same day that lawmakers passed it – typically Crist’s subtle way of signaling a proposal may be doomed – the governor’s office hasn’t yet begun reviewing it.

“There will be no action taken on the bill today; the governor hasn’t received it,” spokesman Sterling Ivey said

EMAIL: CHARLIE.CRIST@MYFLORIDA.COM

SEND THIS TO 10 SUPPORTERS AND TELL THEM TO SEND IT TO 10 MORE SUPPORTERS.