TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Some Florida families are trying to make a last-ditch effort to meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis in hopes of persuading him not to veto a bill that would overturn what they call Florida’s ‘free kill’ law. But their efforts appear to be falling on deaf ears.
“We have not even received a response to our requests for a meeting,” said Cindy Jenkins, who has been fighting to repeal the law after, she said, her daughter died of a misdiagnosed head injury following a car accident a few years ago.
WATCH: “We just want him to listen!” Families struggle to get governor not to veto 'free kill' bill
"We've all requested meetings with him, but to no avail,” Sara Franqui told us.
"To my knowledge, no families have been able to meet with the governor," said Sabrina Davis. "It speaks volumes," she said.
They are all family members who have lost loved ones and, for years, have been fighting to get Florida’s Wrongful Death Act off the books.
The law, which critics call Florida’s ‘free kill’ law, blocks families from seeking non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases if an unmarried loved one who was 25 years old or older unexpectedly dies from medical negligence.
After years of failed attempts to overturn the law, lawmakers in both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill for a full repeal this session.
But during a recent press conference, Governor Ron DeSantis explained why he plans to veto it.
"That is going to lead to a flood of lawsuits against practitioners and against hospitals. Malpractice premiums are going to go up, it’s going to be hard to recruit physicians into Florida, and, ultimately, healthcare costs will go up," he said when asked if he will sign the bill.
The Governor’s explanation mirrors the case medical lobbyists, doctors, and some lawmakers have been making for years to keep the law in place.
Now, families blocked by the law are questioning who's getting the Governor’s ear and why.
During the same press conference, the Governor revealed some insight into who he’s spoken with about the issue, but families didn’t come up.
"We've spoken to a lot of folks in hospitals and healthcare, and it was pretty overwhelming the concerns about it," he said.
"I don't believe he's taking us into consideration. I think that he's being misled by opposition," Sabrina Davis told us during a recent interview.
Since 2023, we’ve followed Davis on her efforts to get the law repealed. In 2020, her father died of an undiagnosed blood clot while he was being treated at a hospital for knee pain. Davis has been unable to bring a medical malpractice claim because the law prevents her from seeking non-economic damages since her father wasn’t married at the time he died.
Davis said she has put in several requests to meet with the governor over the last few years and has intensified her efforts this session, given the bills' strong support from lawmakers.
Davis said she’s still waiting to secure a meeting with the governor.
"I have still not heard anything," she said.
"We just want him to listen to us," said Sara Franqui, who believes her 28-year-old daughter was also a victim of medical negligence a few years ago but falls under the wrongful death act since she wasn’t married when she died.
After failing to secure a meeting with the governor, Franqui decided to show up to one of his press conferences earlier this week. She described her brief encounter with DeSantis as he was leaving the news conference.
“I looked at him in his eyes and said, please listen, we need you to pass House Bill 6017,” she said. “He looked at me and goes, ‘what?’ I said the free kill law and he goes, I got to go, I got to go,” she described. “I said to him, please save our lives. Save the lives of the Floridians, and that was it,” she said.
For these families, they want to be heard on a bill that will have long-lasting consequences, whether it becomes law or dies before it reaches that point.
It remains unclear if the Governor has met with any families about this bill. His office has not responded to our requests.
Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone submitted a public records request to find out who he’s met with on this issue. She’ll share those records once they become available.
