After report on incest victim, Lauren Book calls out abortion restrictions as ‘cruel and unusual’

Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book. (Image via Colin Hackley.)

Sen. Lauren Book is expressing outrage at news of a child incest victim forced to travel outside Florida for an abortion. She also says she felt empathy as a victim of sexual assault herself.

But what the Senate Democratic Leader could not do was feign shock or surprise.

“I knew because of what I do and what I have been through that these things were going to happen,” Book said. “It’s only a matter of time. I’ve talked to those young people. I’ve talked to those young girls who are raped by their father. I’ll tell you something. I’ve had conversations with people that people would never believe. I had to hear things that people would never want to hear.”

One of the stories has now been heard courtesy of Planned Parenthood. Representatives shared an account with Buzzfeed News of a middle school girl impregnated through incest. Laura Goodhue, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida, did not share the girl’s name, but revealed she had to travel two or three states away to obtain a legal abortion.

That prompted a number of Democratic campaigns around the state to draw attention to a ban signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April on abortions 15 weeks into pregnancy. The new state law allows no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, despite emphatic pleas made by Book on the Senate floor during the Legislative Session.

“I shared more about my story, which was a very public, open story, than I had ever shared,” said Book, who was sexually assaulted at the hands of a live-in babysitter as a child. “That person brought me to a gang rape, and had I become pregnant, I would have had to make very difficult decisions.”

With a 15-week ban in place, Book said, girls in similar situations would be denied that choice. Knowing little of the victim in the Buzzfeed story, she presumes this child at least had the financial means to travel out of state to end a pregnancy. But many do not.

Lauren’s Kids, Book’s abuse prevention nonprofit, offers counseling and support to many young rape victims. She discussed a girl who became pregnant with her father’s baby. But as she showed at school, even as classmates taunted her and called her a “whore,” she would not reveal that incest produced the pregnancy until shortly before the baby was born. Tests on the infant later confirmed the paternity.

Her organization has seen many terrible circumstances surrounding teen pregnancies, sometimes with girls who did not know they were pregnant until after 15 weeks. Frequently, the girl has been the victim of a sex crime, whether reported to authorities or not.

“Republicans are forcing victims of incest, rape and human trafficking to have to leave our state to go get medical care,” she said. “That is cruel and unusual. Think about what it is and what it would feel like to be a young child being raped by a family member, maybe finally disclosing what that is, and not being able to be in your comfort zone to be able to get the care that you need.”

Democrats certainly hope voters remember this when they vote on Nov. 8, for legislative seats and statewide races. The story of the incest victim comes weeks after a Category 4 hurricane tore through much of the state. But Book thinks voters will remember the assault on reproductive rights regardless of the ongoing recovery.

“People are still paying attention to this issue. There are a lot of very serious issues that every day come up. But I think for women, and for people who have women in their lives, I think this is something that’s always on their mind,” Book said.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade impacted so many lives in a direct way Book believes it will motivate voters. It’s not just stories from survivors that make her feel that way, but a reticence to discuss the issue among Republicans.

“Look no further than the Governor himself,” she said. “He is not shy about talking about, ‘We’re going to do open carry. We’re going to take migrants from another state, misusing funds and send them to Martha’s Vineyard. … We’re going to do this or that.’ But you know what he’s not talking about? Abortion. They know they’re wrong. They know this doesn’t do well, because they know they’ve pushed the envelope too far.”