Statement from Florida State Representative Angela Nixon as Florida Senate President Confirms Plans to Pursue Texas-Style Anti-Choice Law in Florida

Yesterday, in a television interview with WFLA-TV, Channel 8, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Republican from Trilby, revealed that state GOP lawmakers are “already working on” a bill to take away women’s reproductive rights. This is the same kind of anti-abortion bill that just came into effect in Texas, which bans these procedures as early as six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant.

In reaction to Simpson’s chilling words, District 14 Florida State Representative Angela Nixon issued the following statement:

“Hearing the words of Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson should do away with any illusions about Florida’s women being safe from the unconstitutional and authoritarian designs of those in this state who would take away our ability to make our own decisions about our health and our bodies.

“If voters do not act decisively to change the balance of power in Tallahassee in 2022, we are likely to see the same kind of full-scale assault on a woman’s right to choose that we are witnessing in Texas right here in Florida. That would be catastrophic.

“As an African-American woman, it terrifies me to think of the nefarious consequences this kind of law could have in my own community. Florida ranks 32nd out of 50 U.S. states in terms of maternal mortality rates and carrying a pregnancy to term carries a four times greater risk of death for Black women. Between implicit bias, lack of health insurance, and no access to quality health care, pregnancy can be a death sentence for too many of us.

“This is not about upholding the value of human life. It’s about devaluing the lives of rape victims and women that rely on this essential medical service while giving community vigilantes an opportunity to victimize these women for a bounty.”