Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Tallahassee, Florida, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Roe V. Wade. Her pointed speech was given a stones-throw away from presumptive 2024 Republican Presidential candidate, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
In the speech, Harris chided Republican efforts to restrict access to abortions, saying their laws were “designed by extremists.”
“And can we truly be free if so-called leaders claim to be ‘on the vanguard of freedom’ while they dare to restrict the rights of the American people and attack the very foundations of freedom,” Harris said.
Harris’ remarks were made inside to avoid Sunday’s torrential rains. The crowd of mostly Harris supporters was chanting, “Hey ho, DeSantis has to go,” before the speech.
The speech comes just days after Florida’s Health Agency warned pharmacies not to sell prescription abortion pills. The state passed a 15-week abortion ban last year after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Florida’s abortion ban does not come with exceptions for rape or incest.
DeSantis has yet to respond directly to Harris’ speech. The Republican Party of Florida criticized the address in a statement: “Democrats are proudly cheerleading barbaric policies to allow unrestricted abortions — including infanticide. That’s all anyone needs to know.”
