TALLAHASSEE — A House committee on Wednesday approved a controversial measure that would allow parents to file civil lawsuits seeking damages for the wrongful death of an “unborn child,” with critics of the bill saying it is too broad and could shrink the number of doctors who deliver babies in Florida.

The proposal, now ready to go to the full House, would add “unborn child” to a law that allows family members to seek damages when a person’s death is caused by such things as wrongful acts or negligence.

The bill (HB 651) has drawn intense pushback from abortion-rights advocates, who argue the proposed changes could put abortion providers and people who help women obtain abortions at risk of being sued.

The House and Senate bill sponsors also led efforts last year to pass a law that seeks to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. But the sponsors maintain that this year’s bill is not abortion-related.

“We are talking about human beings. We are talking about the human experience, the experience of the parents who have suffered a real loss. We are saying they have the right to seek recovery in our court system,” House sponsor Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, said before the House Judiciary Committee approved the bill Wednesday.