Following the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that will overturn Roe v. Wade, Florida Democrats are gearing up for what they believe will be a major push to ban abortions outright in the state.
During a conference call Tuesday, State Rep. Anna Eskamani of Orlando said she expects an all-out abortion ban to come up either during an upcoming special session or the next time the legislature meets.
But she says Republicans don't want to talk about that just yet.
"Florida Republicans — including Gov. Ron DeSantis — are super awkward and uncomfortable talking about an all-out ban. They want to avoid it as much as possible, because they know the second they commit to it, that it'll wake up voters across the state of Florida," she said. "And that is not what they want to do before a November election year."
State Senate minority leader Lauren Book said elections have consequences. She said the Democrats' main message this election has to be that the only way abortion rights can be preserved in Florida is for more Democrats to be elected.
"We're tired. We're ready to fight," Book said. "And we're mobilizing to make sure that my daughter, women, individuals have a right to choose what happens to their bodies."
A state law that bans most abortion after 15 weeks will go into effect July first. An expected vote in Congress to put Roe v. Wade into law is likely to fall short in the Senate.
State Sen. Shevrin Jones of South Florida said its time Congress "gets serious" about putting Roe v. Wade — which has been in effect since 1973 — into law.
"If you want to act and legislate and put forth laws like it's 1950, 1960 or even 1973 in this case, we are going to protest like it's 1950, 1960 or 1973," he said.
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. To see more, visit WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. 9(MDAyMTYyMTU5MDEyOTc4NzE4ODNmYWEwYQ004))
