ORLANDO, Fla. — Rep. Anna Eskamani was part of a roundtable Thursday led by Vice President Kamala Harris during her visit to Orlando.


What You Need To Know

  • Vice President Kamala Harris visited Central Florida, Bay area on Thursday

  • Harris made stop at a sorority and women's health event, before speaking with roundtable on abortion

  • Rep. Anna Eskamani was part of the abortion discussion

It was part of the VP's day-long trip to the Sunshine State, which includes a stop in Tampa this afternoon.

The roundtable at the Convention Center focused on reproductive rights in Florida and nationwide.

Harris said women need to be able to make their own decisions, about their own bodies and their own lives. She criticized state leaders in Florida who recently approved a 15-week abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest

"Let the woman make that decision with her doctor, her loved ones, her pastor, her priest, her rabbi. But the government should not be doing that," she said.

State Rep. Eskamani said lawmakers wanted to stress what’s happening here in Florida with that new challenged law, and what more she feels need to be done.

"We need more executive action," Eskamani said. "We also need to look at every legal solution to help restore and enhance rights."

Only the first few minutes of the roundtable were open to the media.

Eskamani said in addition to those on the roundtable, about 10 to 12 Democratic lawmakers joined in on the conversation. However, all state lawmakers were invited to attend, she said. 

The roundtable lasted around 45 minutes.

Before that meeting, Harris spoke at a sorority event for Alpha Kappa Alpha, of which she is a member and was active during her time attending Howard University. 

This is Harris’ first visit to Orlando since 2020.

VP HARRIS VISITS TAMPA THURSDAY NIGHT

In Tampa, Harris is visiting U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base and meet with service members and receive a briefing. She arrived at about 4 p.m.

During the greet with service members, the Vice President met with 40 base troops; 15 CENTCOM troops, 15 SOCOM troops and 10 MacDill air wing troops.

In her briefings, the Vice President and the CENTCOM and SOCOM leaders were to discuss current CENTCOM and SOCOM operations, regional and global dynamics, and how CENTCOM and SOCOM are executing the Administration’s priorities through their missions, including in supporting Ukraine against Russia.