I have been working for more than 25 years to protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions—which is why I introduced a resolution in August to resolve that women seeking reproductive care or doctors providing it wouldn’t be subject to arrest—and when city staff modified it to remove those protections, I voted against it.

I committed then and I will commit now to introduce and persuade my fellow City Council members to pass an ordinance blocking the use of taxpayer funds to enforce laws banning abortion that violate the Florida Constitution’s protections. I’ve made it clear why we need to do this:

The repeal of Roe v. Wade makes me less safe now than I’ve ever been in my life. Women across the country suffering pregnancy complications are experiencing unthinkable torture due to the restoration of archaic and unpopular anti-abortion laws, and politicians in Tallahassee are promising to enact even stricter anti-abortion laws in this coming session.

It’s essential we pass an ordinance to protect women & doctors in the city of Tampa, and it’s my promise that I’ll fight to do so.