On June 15th, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) officially announced in Miami that he is a candidate for president in 2016.  During his half-hour announcement speech, Bush made his case as to why he believes he's the best choice for the country, and he used examples from his time in office to support his position.

On the same day, the women's advocacy group Ultraviolet posted an image to their Facebook page that contained "5 things you should know about Jeb Bush."  Here's what they posted:

  1. Appointed a guardian for the fetus of a rape survivor
  2. Signed into law a bill requiring single moms to publish their sexual history
  3. Hired a staffer who publicly called women "sluts"
  4. Said low-income women should "get their life together and find a husband"
  5. Used taxpayer money to promote anti-abortion groups

Our partners at PolitiFact Florida saw the post on Ultraviolet's Facebook page and took a look at all five of those claims.  For this article, we'll take a look at the first claim about the appointment of a guardian for the fetus of a rape survivor.  PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that Ultraviolet's claim rates MOSTLY FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.  Gillin says that, essentially, Ultraviolet started with a premise and interpolated a conclusion that was not supported by the facts.

"This goes back to a 2003 case where a mentally handicapped woman in a group home was raped and became pregnant," said Gillin.  "At the start of the 2003 trial, the woman was then six months pregnant.  Governor Jeb Bush did ask the Court to appoint a guardian to the fetus.  What needs to be pointed out, though, is that no one had asked for that fetus to be aborted... not the state, not the group home, nobody involved in the case.  That didn't stop Governor Bush from wanting to protect the fetus."

Gillin noted that the courts did reach a decision.  "The state courts eventually ruled that, according to the State Supreme Court, fetuses in Florida don't have the same rights as people in Florida do," said Gillin.  "A guardian was never appointed, and Governor Bush never had the authority to appoint a guardian himself, which is not in line with the claim that Ultraviolet has made."

Gillin summed it up with a reference to a classic television show.  “You know, to paraphrase the ‘Star Trek’ episode where Spock is supposed to get married, having is much different than wanting," said Gillin.  "Ultraviolet took a Bush request for protection of a fetus by a guardian and morphed it into something purported to have happened."  Because of that, the claim gets a MOSTLY FALSE rating on PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter.

 

SOURCES: Did Jeb Bush appoint a guardian to a fetus?