Lawton Chiles III
Ten years ago this month marks the anniversary of the death of former Florida governor — my father — Lawton Chiles. While he will long be remembered for many things, the issue closest to his heart was the health and well-being of Florida’s children.
When my son was born prematurely in 1981, seeing him fight for his life in the neonatal intensive care unit had a huge impact on my father, lighting a fire in him that burned bright throughout his political career. During his years as a U.S. senator, he increased funding for prenatal care and childhood immunizations and helped focus the nation’s attention on the importance of early, quality prenatal care. He also became a leader in working to reduce the country’s high infant mortality rate. When he was elected governor in 1990, he raised the standards for education and dedicated his service to building a constituency for children.
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