Florida Rep. Val Demings (D), who’s affirmed that abortion will be a topic of importance in her platform, is now calling Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) an “extremist” on abortion. After Justice Alito’s leaked draft earlier this month signaling that the Supreme Court intended to overturn Roe vs. Wade, Demings was one of a number of Democrats who emerged in staunch opposition ahead of her election.
Demings was the keynote speaker at the She's the Change Leadership Conference in Orlando organized by Ruth's List Florida, an organization dedicated to electing candidates that support abortion rights.
Speaking of Rubio, Demings said that he "believes that a woman should not have the right to an abortion regardless of the circumstances," adding that Rubio "believes women should not have the right to an abortion even in the event of incest and rape."
She also questioned, “I investigated sexual abuse cases and rape cases, and doggone it, we are not going for that, are we, Florida?”
Demings further affirmed her support of abortion rights, calling the Rubio campaign "desperate" for accusing her of being "extreme" herself. “Desperate people say desperate things," Demings said, saying that abortions are "a constitutional right that women have had for 49, almost 50 years."
"Roe v. Wade came with restrictions. So for the Rubio campaign, they are searching for something to take attention away from his extreme views about a constitutional right that women have in this country," Demings added.
Demings clarified that she supports "abortions up until the point of viability or when it threatens the health of the woman, the mother." Instead, she argued that “Marco Rubio is the one who has absolutely zero restrictions.”
Though Rubio has not responded to Demings' comments, he will be speaking at an event organized by the Florida Family Policy Council, an organization that is anti-abortion.
