After Roe decision, Floridians are ready to reject GOP abortion bans | Opinion

Over half a century ago, in the face of attacks from Republican politicians and special interest groups, women in Florida and all across the country stood shoulder to shoulder and fought for their right to access reproductive care. As a result of their tireless advocacy, in 1973, the Supreme Court enshrined the right to choose in our constitution. That victory was hard fought, and it paved the way for generations of women to make their own healthcare decisions without political influence.

More than 50 years later, Florida women are once again fighting for that right.

In 2022, Donald Trump and his extreme backers like U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida finally accomplished what anti-freedom extremists had been trying to do for decades: turning back the clock on women’s rights and overturning Roe v. Wade. Trump is proud of that achievement — he’s even called it a “miracle” and boasted about being the one responsible for Republicans passing cruel abortion bans across the country.

But he hasn’t done it alone. He’s found staunch allies in politicians like Scott who have made it their mission to rip away women’s reproductive rights.

Over the last year, Floridians have seen one attack after another on our fundamental freedoms. When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, Scott proudly supported it and claimed he would have signed that law as governor. (Scott was elected governor of Florida in 2010 and reelected in 2014.) In the Senate, that could have devastating and deadly consequences for women in all 50 states.

These draconian bans have been a recipe for tragedy in our state, where women like Anya Cook have been denied treatment even when facing life-threatening pregnancies. Countless other women and girls have been forced to leave Florida to seek the care they need. Yet, earlier this month, Rick Scott minimized this, calling it a “tough issue for women.”

Now, they’re ready to go even further. Scott and Trump would ban abortion nationwide, and they’ve laid out concrete plans to stop women in all 50 states from accessing medication abortion. Here in Florida, Republicans have introduced what is essentially a total abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Earlier this month, nearly one million Floridians signed their support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect reproductive rights in Florida — but even codifying abortion in our state constitution wouldn’t stand up to a national federal abortion ban.

The only way to stop this all-out attack on our freedoms is by reelecting the only two candidates in the presidential race who have demonstrated bold leadership in the fight to restore the protections of Roe and stop these dangerous Republican attacks to protect our right to privacy, President Biden and Vice President Harris. We need leaders at every level who know that the government has no place in the private conversations a woman has with her doctor.

Floridians — and especially Latino Floridians — know what it means to live under a government that has control over every aspect of our lives, and we will not go back. Floridians will continue fighting to defend the values and freedoms we hold dear, and we’re ready to hold extremist leaders accountable who threaten those freedoms.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in 2024. She is a former congresswoman who was elected in 2018 to represent Florida’s 26th congressional district. She lives in Miami.