![\"Jacksonville](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/53d9d594fcb4d6bbfc5882d48fd141a7.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nFlorida Capitol (Photo by Michael Moline\/Florida Phoenix)<\/p>\n
Because viewing images of children being sexually abused is illegal, Florida shouldn\u2019t refer to the felony by the lawful term of \u201cpornography,\u201d a Florida Republican argues in a bill filled Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Instead, Rep. Jessica Baker wants to replace every mention of \u201cchild pornography\u201d in statute with \u201cchild sexual abuse material,\u201d because she believes it\u2019s wrong to apply \u201cpornography\u201d to pictures and videos of raped or sexually battered children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile adult pornography is legal, there is no legitimate category known as \u2018child pornography,’\u201d Baker, a Jacksonville Republican, said in a statement to the Phoenix. \u201cThe term itself is misleading, as it implies a lawful form of pornography when, in fact, any sexualized depiction or exploitation of minors is a crime. Such material is not pornography \u2014 it is Child Sexual Abuse Material.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must call it what it truly is: the documentation of the sexual abuse of children,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
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Jacksonville House Republican Jessica Baker at the Capitol on April 12, 2023 (photo credit: Mitch Perry)<\/p>\n
HB 245<\/a> is a 56-page measure that crosses out every reference to \u201cchild pornography\u201d in Florida law and replaces it with \u201cchild sexual abuse material,\u201d amending 19 state statutes.<\/p>\n If passed, Baker\u2019s bill would align Florida with Pennsylvania and Louisiana, which have already adopted similar language. Delaware and Texas will take up these measures during their 2026 legislative sessions, while Alaska\u2019s measure failed in the Senate.<\/p>\n These small changes to legal terminology come amid a broad, national push to ensure precise language is used when it comes to victims of sensitive, heinous crimes like child sexual abuse, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation. The Department of Justice in 2023 published<\/a> a memo noting that although the term \u201cchild pornography\u201d still appears in federal law, officials prefer to use \u201cchild sexual abuse material\u201d because it\u2019s a better reflection of the crime.<\/p>\n The memo points out that in 2016 an international group working to combat child exploitation formally recognized<\/a> \u201cchild sexual abuse material\u201d as the preferred term.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t Florida\u2019 first foray into passing legislation dealing with child sexual abuse \u2014 albeit in generally more extreme terms. In 2023, the Florida Legislature became the first in decades to pass a law expanding the death penalty to child rapists<\/a>. In 2024, it defined and created punishments for \u201cgrooming,\u201d which involves enticing children into sex. During the 2025 session, it added human trafficking of a minor as another crime eligible for execution.<\/p>\n The 2026 session begins Jan. 13.<\/p>\n