Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried blames former President Donald Trump for abortion restrictions during a press conference on June 24, 2024, the second anniversary of the Supreme Court Dobbs ruling. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix)
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Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s six-week abortion ban, but to the contraception advocates who brought a 20-foot inflatable IUD to Tallahassee on the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Donald Trump ultimately is to blame.
Americans for Contraception and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried warned Floridians Monday that access to birth control and IVF are at risk if Trump and Sen. Rick Scott are re-elected in November. Fried highlighted the restrictive abortion bans in place throughout the country, saying the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case, which ended the constitutional right to abortion, created chaos.
“That chaos was caused by Donald Trump, and today we are living under one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country,” Fried said during the press conference.
She continued: “If this is the damage that has been done in just two years, imagine what would happen if there was another four more. We’re already seeing the signs. First, it was an abortion. But they didn’t stop there. Today Republicans are not just restricting access to abortion, they’re coming after IVF, birth control, emergency health care.”
Speakers pinned the Dobbs decision on Trump, given that he tilted the Supreme Court toward a conservative supermajority. The conference was the last Florida stop on Americans for Contraception’s “IUD Express” tour.
Five months ahead of the election, Florida Democrats continue to stress the abortion landscape to criticize Trump and Scott and drum up support for Amendment 4, which would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.
Rubio defends Dobbs decision
So far Monday, Trump and Scott have remained quiet on this anniversary. However, Sen. Marco Rubio, who is not up for reelection this year, expressed support for the overturning of Roe with multiple posts on X.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Credit: Rubio U.S. Senate
“Unborn children, like any children, cannot vote or protest. But this is no reason to leave them unaccounted for,” Rubio wrote on Sunday.
“Future generations will look back on Dobbs as a great victory for freedom, but our work is far from over. Pro-life Americans must recommit to protecting the unborn and providing families, mothers, and their children — in the womb and out of it — with the support they need to thrive,” he continued.
Addressing a conference of Christian conservatives on Saturday, Trump stressed that abortion restrictions should be up to the states, according to USA Today.
But June 24 marks another anniversary Republican lawmakers are acknowledging: The Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside that killed 98 people. DeSantis, Rubio, and Scott wrote posts on X offering their condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the incident.
Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1, closing an important point of access to abortion in the southeast and forcing patients to seek the procedure in other states. Since then, Planned Parenthood has helped 200 Floridians connect with out-of-state abortion providers, according to a press release from the organization.
“Abortion bans don’t eradicate the need for abortion care; they merely dictate who has access. Those with the means to travel face hurdles, while those without are compelled to carry pregnancies against their will, exposing themselves to life-altering and sometimes life-threatening risks,” wrote Alexandra Mandado, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida, in a Monday press release.
“Our communities have long lacked adequate access to abortion care. The ‘right’ to an abortion has never guaranteed access. It’s time to envision new possibilities for our communities, a future centered on equity,” she added.
On the other hand, groups such as Florida Voice for the Unborn are celebrating the end of Roe. The anti-abortion group is hosting a banquet in Winter Park aimed at defeating Amendment 4. Florida House Republicans Webster Barnaby of Volusia County and Berny Jacques of Pinellas County are set to deliver keynote speeches.
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