FLORIDA — For three months since the landmark Supreme Court Dobbs ruling, Val Demings has attacked Republicans, and her opponent, incumbent Senator Marco Rubio, for attempting to take away the freedoms of Americans.
Demings, the Democrats’ nominee for Senate in Florida, argues that limiting personal decisions on abortion and replacing them with state and federal government mandates is “anti-freedom.”
It’s a strategy that Democratic candidates are using across the country to appeal to women and independent voters – driving a politically charged wedge through an issue that has been a GOP strength for decades.
INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM: A BATTLE OVER MEANING
Democrats have framed the Supreme Court decision as a setback to a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions, a position Demings has emphasized in her campaign.
“I took an oath as an officer to protect every American and our constitutional rights. Your decisions and your beliefs are our own. Your life, your family, your religion, your circumstances, your values, your body – it’s yours. Our freedom makes us the greatest nation in the world,” Demings said in a House Judiciary Committee Hearing in May.
Individual freedom has also been a topic of the Republican party this election cycle. The pandemic brought additional tension between individual rights and the public good to the front line of national discussion. Many candidates have spoken about pandemic-related restrictions and the harm caused to businesses, schools, and society.
“Representatives Val Demings and Lois Frankel have spent their entire careers taking away the freedoms of not only Floridians but all Americans. They wanted to shut down Florida and small businesses and take away an individual's medical freedom,” said Dan Franzese, a Republican running for Congress in District 22. “America is at a turning point, and we must get our country back on track,” he told The Florida Standard.
NO RESTRICTIONS
On the campaign trail, when asked about what restrictions she would place on abortion, Demings told the Miami Herald that she supports a woman's right to choose abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb. Additionally, when voting for the Women's Health Care Protection Act in Congress, Demings said that only a doctor could determine if a delivered fetus is viable.
“I would like to know from Val Demings, at what point is it not okay to abort a child? When does the life of a child matter? All that I hear from radical Democrats like Val Demings and Joe Biden is political rhetoric. They are in denial of the advancements in science and in medicine since the time of Roe v. Wade,” Persons-Mulicka told the Florida Standard.
“We now know that by 15 weeks, a baby has fully taken on the human form and can feel pain and suffer. We also know that abortion has a higher medical risk to the mother and can cause psychological harm when performed later in pregnancy,” she added.
FLORIDA'S 15-WEEK ABORTION BAN
Jenna Persons-Mulicka is the co-sponsor of Florida’s HB 5 – Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality – which already bans most abortions after 15 weeks.
“We have not only protected the lives of babies after 15 weeks but we have been strongly committed to supporting our children, mothers, and families. Just in the last two years, we have passed measures to combat infant mortality and to support women in their most vulnerable time of need – postpartum,” the state representative told The Florida Standard.
“We're also encouraging active and present fathers, and supporting adoption and foster care programs with funding. We stand with Floridians and will continue to work to build a state where abortion is simply unimaginable,” she said.
The Florida Standard reported in August that Republicans have surged past Democrats in voter registrations. According to records from the Florida Department of Elections, that edge has continued to grow over recent months. Republican registrations increased by more than 38,000 voters, Democrats lost more than 8,000 registered voters, and Independent voters increased by more than 28,000.
