Florida State Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland) today released the following statement regarding the final United States Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overruled decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, affirmatively returning authority regarding the regulation of abortion to the states.
“Protecting the innocent children whose lives are ended through abortion was a defining issue for me as I made the decision to run for elected office. Today is a wonderful affirmation of the pro-life efforts of so many over the last 50 years, and I am incredibly grateful to the justices for their courage in speaking the truth in the face of tremendous adversity.
“The so-called ‘right’ to murder an unborn child was entirely invented by the Roe decision and affirmed in the Casey decision, both of which were wrong from the start. Not only is abortion never mentioned in our Constitution, the opinion explains in great detail that history does not in any way support the pro-abortion lie that the ‘right’ to kill an unborn child is a liberty rooted in the history of this country or the common law. To the contrary, historical facts and writings cited by the court as well as modern scientific realities unequivocally support the fact that abortion is the taking of an innocent human life and a barbaric practice that has been repudiated throughout history.
“The damage Roe has caused this country is profound. Unfortunately, laws and legal opinions cannot change hearts and minds influenced by decades of an anti-life culture. While we recognize the loss of 63 million innocent and irreplaceable children, we must also accept that the permissible killing of unborn children over three generations has caused serious damage to the social fabric of this country.
“Informed by my own life experience with an unplanned teenage pregnancy, I know firsthand that all too often our culture condones and even promotes the murder of innocent children as a means to freedom and equality as a way to show empathy for women facing difficult or unplanned situations. In my view, as we move forward, our work to foster a culture that supports life, children, parents and families is even more important. It has been an honor for me to work with my colleagues on legislation to protect the innocent lives ended by abortion. I continue to pray for the lives lost and impacted by abortion and for the safety of the justices and their families.”
