Dear Friend,
This year’s legislative session was wrought with dangerous attacks on our rights and freedoms, but the one most personal to me was the bill banning safe and legal abortion care after 15 weeks in Florida.
From the day the bill was introduced to the day it passed, I fought against it. This ban is dangerous, extreme, and cruel — with NO exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and human trafficking. I’ve spent most of my life fighting against sexual assault and working to protect survivors, and offered several amendments to include exemptions for women and girls who have survived unthinkable assaults. I shared my personal story as a sexual abuse survivor, and elevated the voices of other courageous survivors. Yet, the amendment failed along party lines.
It is not the government’s place to control women’s bodies or to force anyone to continue a pregnancy. And for women and girls whose bodily autonomy has already been violated, taking away that choice is a cruel and unusual punishment.
This ban will only re-victimize those who have experienced abuse. It is completely out of line with the majority of Floridians, who believe decisions about abortion should be left to a pregnant person and their medical provider.
Although it’s expected to be signed by Governor DeSantis soon, our fight for reproductive rights is far from over. In fact, this bill only motivates us to speak up even louder for reproductive freedom in our state. During this year’s session, I was proud to lead a unified caucus that stood strongly in support of women’s rights. We fought hard and used our collective voices in defense of Floridians who would be affected by this bill.
I stand with Ruth’s List because they are committed to electing and re-electing Democratic pro-choice women at all levels of state and local government in Florida who will protect our freedoms. We need these champions now more than ever. Can you join me and become a monthly donor to Ruth’s List today before their big end-of-month deadline?
