'Nothing short of barbaric': Harris' Florida campaign highlights abortion ban horror stories

ORLANDO, Fla. — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is highlighting women who say their health was harmed because of restrictive abortion bans, hoping to build momentum in Florida where a new poll shows her narrowing the gap with former President Donald Trump.

Harris supporters gathered Wednesday at Orlando City Hall in opposition to Florida’s six-week abortion ban, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last year.

Democrats are hoping to put abortion at the forefront when voters head to the polls in November, viewing it as an issue that will resonate.

At the Orlando event, two women shared their stories of how abortion bans in other states affected their health. The women also spoke at an event in Tampa on Wednesday.

“What I went through was nothing short of barbaric,” said Amanda Zurawski, a Texas resident, who said she spent three days in intensive care fighting for her life after being denied an abortion. “It did not need to happen, but it did because of Donald Trump and his allies.”

Trump’s conservative judicial picks paved the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to undo Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion rights nationwide for decades. Following that 2022 ruling, Florida and other Republican-led states implemented sweeping abortion bans.

Florida’s six-week abortion ban, which went into effect May 1, includes exceptions if a woman’s life is threatened or if a “fatal fetal abnormality” is detected. It also allows abortions in cases of rape and incest up to 15 weeks of pregnancy if a woman provides documentation, such as a police report.

Florida voters will decide in November whether to undo that ban through a constitutional amendment that would protect abortion rights. That ballot measure needs at least 60% of the vote to pass.

A Florida Atlantic University poll released Wednesday found 56% of voters surveyed supported enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. That is below the 60% needed for passage, but nearly a quarter of respondents said they were still undecided on the abortion measure.

At an event last week, Trump, a Palm Beach resident, declined to say how he would vote on the measure known as Amendment 4, adding he plans to address it at a future press conference. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Last week, he said he supports abortion exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother and thinks the Supreme Court’s ruling, which leaves laws on abortion to the states, will let the people decide.

“I think that abortion has become much less of an issue. … I think it’s actually going to be a very small issue,” he said.

Democrats, though, now view it as a key issue that will drive some voters to the polls and hope stories of how strict bans have hurt women will help their cause.

Zurawski, the Texas resident, said she was advised by doctors at 18 weeks of pregnancy that the loss of her daughter was inevitable, but her pregnancy couldn’t be ended because of that state’s new abortion ban. Instead, she said she was forced to wait until her life was considered in danger, and she developed sepsis, a dangerous medical emergency.

She said she spent three days in the ICU and then lost her unborn daughter, whom she had named Willow.

Kaitlyn Joshua, who also is backing Harris on the campaign trail, said two emergency rooms in Louisiana denied her care when she was experiencing blood loss and pain during her pregnancy.

“The standard treatment for a miscarriage, what I was experiencing in that moment, is exactly the same treatment as abortion care. Yet … the staff told me that we’re not doing that right now and told me to go home and wait,” she said.

The FAU poll released Wednesday showed Trump up 3 percentage points over Harris in Florida, a closer contest than two months ago.

State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, said Democrats are feeling energized with Harris now at the top of the ticket.

“Let the record reflect that Florida is in play,” she said.

-------