Anti-reproductive rights extremists in the Florida Legislature are on the brink of going too far. A proposed ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy (that in reality could be as little as one or two) will strip fundamental rights to bodily autonomy from millions of people, exposing the ugly lie behind all the boasting that Florida is the freest state in the nation. Hypocrisy has become a trademark of state leaders, but this will be a new low — and the sense of betrayal must be particularly strong for people facing the possibility of forced pregnancy who are represented by female lawmakers.
It’s entirely possible to oppose abortion while recognizing that carrying forward with an unwanted pregnancy — a right that would become even narrower after 15 weeks — could doom many of their constituents to a lifetime of poverty or in some cases even put their lives at risk, either through health complications or inextricable ties to abusive partners. Giving women a narrow escape hatch, then setting a 15-week ban on abortion, even for victims of rape or incest, was a cruel compromise last year; slamming that portal shut just a year later is a signal of callous disregard for anyone in this state with ovaries and a uterus.
If Florida Republicans can stomach that, they should then consider political reality, which was written in the tears that filled Sen. Alexis Calatayud’s eyes as she explained why she couldn’t vote “yes” on the Senate version of the legislation (SB 300) during its hearing in the Senate Health Policy Committee on Monday. The Miami-Dade Republican — one of several GOP lawmakers who pulled off upsets in districts that were expected to favor Democrats — said she’d made promises she intended to keep. She supported the 15-week ban passed last year, but during her campaign, told voters in her district that she would not support further restrictions. It’s a promise she kept, even though it’s probably going to cost her politically. We can easily imagine a scenario where GOP leadership uses threats against other legislation or individual budget appropriations to keep some lawmakers in line.
And here’s one more drop of political reality: Either option — forcing a lawmaker to abandon her principles and promises, or sending her home to her district without funding for projects that will benefit her constituents — could doom her chances of re-election. That could cost the GOP its dominant majority in the House or Senate in the coming election, which will be on the same ballot with a presidential race, triggering far greater voter participation among voters who are most vulnerable to unplanned pregnancy.
It feels crass to plead with lawmakers to respect Florida women’s rights to control their own bodies on the basis that it may cost the GOP its stranglehold on power in the Sunshine State. But that’s the reality in Florida today.
Our governor and legislative leaders may be blind to the harsh authoritarian tone that dominates so much of the legislation coming out of Florida today.
They may be comfortable with the ever-increasing conflicts between their own stated policies, such as their insistence that freedom is paramount when it comes to life-saving vaccines but negligible when describing a right to govern one’s own reproductive future.
But at the very least, Republicans should consider the anger they are causing among their own core constituents. The majority of Floridians support access to safe abortions in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. The support for freedom becomes overwhelming when a near-total ban is under discussion, and it cuts across all parties and ages.
If they don’t care about women’s rights, lawmakers should at least consider saving their own political hides.
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