Andrew Warren—a Florida state attorney from Tampa—was ousted earlier this month by Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. The pro-reproductive choice Warren signed statements pledging not to prosecute people for violating new abortion restrictions or enforce a law prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.
Warren earned further praise recently after sharing the story of his infant son's death in a heartbreaking speech.
Warren posted a video of his speech to his official Twitter account, saying DeSantis "abused his authority to suspend me, I was in the middle of charging 2 extremely important cases... on a day of extreme personal significance."
He urged his followers to listen to his story "and the threat to democracy we all face" and encouraged them to "join our fight to protect your vote and defend democracy."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Here is what Warren said, including his story about his infant son:
"I'm talking about August 4, 2009, thirteen years ago. I was a federal prosecutor at the time. My wife was eight months pregnant and she was driving to a doctor's appointment that morning."
"I usually would have gone with her but on that day I was preparing for a trial with the DOJ until I didn't. And I received a phone call, a frantic call that she had been in a car accident. She rushed to the hospital and I rushed to the hospital to join her."
"And I arrived in time to witness the birth of my son and to be with him for 15 minutes before he was taken off life support. Bearing a child changes your life. And those of you know my wife know that she is my life's compass, my North Star, my anchor, but it's my son and now my two daughters who are my inspiration."
"They inspired me to run for State Attorney. They inspire my vision of criminal justice, a vision of making our neighborhoods safer so no mother or father ever has to bury their son or comfort their daughter because they were the victim of a crime."
"A vision about making our system better, more fair, more just, so that everyone who goes through is treated equally regardless of the color of their skin or the contents of their wallet."
Many praised Warren for speaking out and criticized DeSantis.
Earlier this year, Warren filed a lawsuit in United States District Court in which he stated DeSantis violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech, characterizing his removal as “retaliation” on the part of DeSantis.
During a news conference, Warren said there is "so much more at stake here than my job," adding DeSantis violated Florida law when he orchestrated a politically motivated ouster.
In April, DeSantis signed into law a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, shortening the period from 24 weeks.
The law permits termination of a pregnancy if at least two physicians certify it is necessary to avert a "serious risk" to the pregnant woman's physical health or that the fetus has a "fatal fetal abnormality", but does not permit elective termination of viable pregnancies resulting from rape, human trafficking, incest or permit termination of viable pregnancies that pose a risk of psychological (but not physical) harm.
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