FDP Chair Nikki Fried unable to answer whether biological males can give birth, get an abortion

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried declined to give a “yes” or “no” answer to whether transgender women, or biological males, can obtain an abortion or give birth.

“Would you say that a transgender woman could give birth, or get an abortion?” Florida’s Voice reporter Owen Girard asked Fried outside the Florida Supreme Court.

“I am not a doctor,” Fried replied.

Demonstrators on both sides gathered on Wednesday outside the court as it heard oral arguments on a ballot initiative that would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in Florida.

“This amendment speaks for itself,” Fried said. “It goes back to medical professionals – not politicians, not elected officials – telling people what to do with their bodies.”

The amendment namely would allow abortion up until the point of “viability,” or if the doctor determines that the mother’s health is at risk.

Both Fried and Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, R-Tampa, did not give a defined line on when life or viability begins. Both pointed to “experts” and “medical professionals” to make those decisions with the patient.

Below is the language of the amendment, which would constitutionally protect abortion, overriding any state laws, before “viability” or when the woman’s health is in jeopardy.

Limiting government interference with abortion.— Except as provided in Article X, Section 22, no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has argued the language is misleading, primely arguing that the the term “viability” has multiple meanings.