Tampa mayor vows NOT to arrest women who have abortions after Gov. DeSantis suspended state attorney
Tampa’s Mayor Jane Castor has defied Florida’ Governor after promising not to arrest women who want to have an abortion.
Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended a state attorney after he similarly pledged not to prosecute those who seek or perform abortions or provide trans surgeries earlier this month.
Andrew Warren, of the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County was suspended, and has now lodged a lawsuit against DeSantis.
Speaking at an event in West Tampa, Mayor Castor was asked by a member of Tampa’s Democratic Socialists of America if she would order Tampa Police to arrest those who have had ‘illegal’ abortions.
Sam May said: ‘I’m scared to have a kid here. I’m scared to do something that could put my life in jeopardy, or to be arrested for a miscarriage.
‘My question is, will you talk with police and tell them not to arrest?’
According to CL Tampa, Castor replied that arrests are ‘100% not going to happen.’
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has vowed that she will not make police enforce Florida’s 15-week abortion ban. She said that arrests were ‘100 per cent not going to happen’ during an appearance this week
Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended a state attorney after he similarly pledged not to prosecute those who seek or perform abortions or provide trans surgeries earlier this month
She added: ‘The Tampa Police Department is here to work with the community on the issues that they deem important, to keep the community safe [and] to ensure that people aren’t victims of crime, not to go out and prosecute individuals for personal choices that they’ve made.
‘So that’s about as simple as it can get’.
Warren was suspended by DeSantis two weeks ago, after calling Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban ‘unconstitutional’.
After the comments, DeSantis issued an executive order which removed Warren from his position, claiming that he did not fulfil his ‘duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda.’
Yesterday it was announced that Florida state Senate will pause its proceedings to remove Warren until the courts hear the case against the Florida governor.
Warren is accused of being bankrolled by billionaire George Soros, who was a campaign contributor.
Communications Director Adam Smith said that there was ‘nothing to add’ regarding Castor’s comments, claiming that she was ‘clear.’
DeSantis, Tampa Police Department and Hillsborough County Sheriff have not publicly addressed Castor’s decision to not pursue arrests.
Hillsborough County Sherriff Chad Chronister backed DeSantis’ decision to suspend Warren two weeks ago in a press conference. He said: ‘We are resolved to apprehend the criminals who prey on law abiding citizens in our community, it’s our duty.
‘We trust that our criminal justice system, the state attorney, the public defender and courts will fairly adjudicate the circumstances and hold those who are guilty accountable.’
Andrew Warren, of the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County was suspended, and has now lodged a lawsuit against DeSantis
The Florida state Senate will pause its proceedings to remove Hillsborough County state attorney Andrew Warren, pictured, from office until his lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is resolved
Warren accused DeSantis of violating his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and running afoul of the Florida state constitution in what Warren called a ‘blatant abuse of power.’
He said: ‘There’s so much more at stake here than my job. Ron DeSantis is hoping to get away with overturning a fair election, throwing out the votes of hundreds of thousands of Floridians.
‘By challenging this illegal abuse of power, we can make sure that no governor can toss out the results of an election because he doesn’t like the outcome.’
DeSantis’ office told DailyMail.com, ‘It’s not surprising Warren, who was suspended for refusing to follow the law, would file a legally baseless lawsuit challenging his suspension.’
‘We look forward to responding in court,’ said the governor’s spokesperson Taryn Fenske.
Mayor Castors comments came the day before Tampa City Council voted to support a person’s right to privacy when it comes to getting an abortion.
The city council will not approve funding for actions that would criminalize Tampa residents from making reproductive health decisions.
But there is an added line in the legal resolution, which says ‘ except as may be required by state or federal law.’
Florida passed a 15-week abortion ban into law on July 1, known as the Florida House Bill (HB) 5, which was blocked after arguments from reproductive health providers.
But it was quickly reinstated after an appeal from the state attorney general, backed by DeSantis, in a lawsuit challenging the restriction after SCOTUS ruled to overturn Roe v Wade.
During his August 4 press conference on Andrew Warren’s home turf, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republicans, said he was issuing an eexecutive order to suspende the Democratic prosecutor for his refusal to follow the governor’s new policies
Thousands of protesters march around the Arizona Capitol after the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion decision in June, but voters there may not have a chance to weigh in directly on the issue until 2024
It is currently headed to the Florida Supreme Court, where health providers are challenging the state’s abortion ban.
The law in Florida now bans abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions if it is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life.
It also allows exceptions for preventing serious injury of if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
However, it does not allow exceptions in cases where pregnancies were caused by rape, incest or human trafficking.
Those who break the law can face up to five years in prison, with physicians and other medical professionals potentially losing their licenses and face administrative fines of $10,000 for each violation.
Earlier this week a Florida appeals court ruled that a 16-year-old with no parents, job or partner was not ‘sufficiently mature’ enough to decide weather she should get an abortion.
It means that she will b forced to raise the baby, with judges claiming the teen had not ‘established by clear and convincing evidence that she was sufficiently mature to decide whether to terminate her pregnancy.’
In her petition to obtain an abortion, the teen wrote that she ‘is not ready to have a baby,’ doesn’t have a job, is ‘still in school,’ and that the father is unable to assist her.