What Tampa Bay lawmakers are saying about Florida’s 6-week abortion ban

With a six-week abortion ban coming to Florida on May 1, Democrats are turning up the pressure on Republicans to say where they stand on the measure.

Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, two congressional Republicans running for reelection that Democrats see as vulnerable, have been particularly subject to scrutiny.

Scott has said he would have signed the six-week bill had it come across his desk when he was governor. The state Democratic party said in a Thursday news release that Scott’s support for the measure “could cost him his Senate seat.”

In an appearance on an anti-abortion Catholic news program last March, Luna praised the six-week bill, saying it was “following the science” by protecting a fetus after the time its heartbeat can be detected.

Democrats are now bashing Luna over the sound bite.

“Anna Paulina Luna’s enthusiastic support for a near total abortion ban and her obsessive opposition to exceptions for rape put her grossly out of touch with Tampa Bay voters,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen said. “Women will soon be living in the archaic nightmare with no access to abortion that Luna has so fervently argued for.”

Luna, whose district includes most of Pinellas County, stressed in a statement that as a federal representative, she has no say in Florida law. She said abortion is an issue that should be determined by individual states.

Here’s what other Tampa Bay area representatives had to say about the six-week ban.

Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis

“Congressman Bilirakis has always been and will continue to be unapologetically and unequivocally pro-life,” a spokesperson said.

Bilirakis is a Republican who represents all of Citrus and Hernando counties, and much of Pasco.

Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan

Buchanan, a Republican who represents part of Hillsborough and all of Manatee County, did not respond to requests for comment.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor

“A six-week abortion ban is extreme, cruel and costly. Many women do not know that they are pregnant at six weeks. The government should not force women to remain pregnant or subject them to harm when an emergency occurs during pregnancy,” said Castor, a Democrat who represents part of Hillsborough and Pinellas, in a statement. “The abortion ban will cost lives and cause doctors and medical students to flee the state, which will lead to fewer doctors who can handle miscarriages and other emergencies for all Floridians. Women and doctors should make personal health decisions, not politicians.”

Castor noted that she is a co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would protect abortion access federally.

Republican U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee

Lee’s office declined to comment. She represents parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.

Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio

Rubio’s office did not respond to questions about his stance on the six-week bill. However, a spokesperson referred a reporter to a strategy memo that Rubio’s office distributed in January outlining what he described as a winning political plan for the anti-abortion movement.

In the memo, Rubio argued that Republicans should advocate for more family-friendly policies like paid parental leave. And he said those who oppose abortion need to go on offense, criticizing what he said was Democratic extremism on the topic.

Rubio is not up for reelection until 2028.