With the end of Roe v. Wade, abortion and reproductive rights have become a deciding factor for voters nationwide. Proving once again that local elections matter, Florida voters ousted two officials who were openly against abortion rights in two separate elections on Aug. 23.
In addition to removing Florida Rep. James Bush from office, Jared Smith, a judge in Florida’s Hillsborough County, also lost his reelection.
Prior to the election, both Bush and Smith received widespread condemnation for their views. While Bush crossed party lines as the only Democrat in the state legislature who voted on a 15-week abortion ban and the anti-LGBTQ "Don't Say Gay" bill, Smith denied a 17-year-old girl an abortion without parental consent, claiming her school grades demonstrated a lack of “intelligence or credibility.”
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While judicial races often have little to no national attention, the race between Smith and his opponent Nancy Jacobs made headlines nationwide, especially after Smith's decision to deny the teen an abortion.
According to Daily Kos, in the case’s initial ruling in January, Smith became focused on the teen’s grades over other evidence. In his ruling, he said that while the teen said she made mostly Bs in her testimony, at the time of the ruling her GPA was 2.0—reason enough to deny her request for an abortion.
“The court found her intelligence to be less than average … she claimed that her grades were ‘Bs’ during her testimony, her GPA is currently 2.0,” Smith wrote according to court documents. “Clearly, a ‘B’ average would not equate to a 2.0 GPA.”
Smith even claimed that the teen should not get an abortion due to the fact that she does not care for younger family members. However, others noted the teen did not have younger siblings for this claim to apply.
Additionally, Smith argued the teen “has never had any financial responsibilities, even so much as paying her own cellphone bills.” Yet the appeals court found that at the time of the hearing, the teen worked about 20 hours a week, had $1,600 in savings, two credit cards, and paid for practically everything but her cellphone bills.
While Smith attempted to discredit the girl and use her grades as evidence, the appeals court saw through it and ruled in favor of the teen. The court not only debunked Smith’s claims but found that he abused his discretion.
As a result of this case, Smith made headlines across the country for his bias.
While Jacobs never criticize Smith over his decision—Florida bars judicial candidates from making public statements on legal issues—she did share posts on Facebook regarding the ruling.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Jacobs said she looked forward to taking the bench in January and "ensuring that the people of Hillsborough County who enter my courtroom are treated with respect, dignity, and integrity every day."
She noted that Smith's decision in the abortion case was possibly "one factor among many in voters’ decisions on whom to cast their ballots for in this race" given that it made national headlines.
In addition to being anti-abortion, Smith has also made headlines for centering his faith in his campaign. According to BuzzFeed News, his wife, Suzette Smith, once told supporters that Jacobs, who is Jewish, "needs Jesus."
"We pray for her. She needs Jesus," Suzette Smith said. "To deny God and to deny the Bible is a person that’s — the heart is very hard toward God.”
Jacobs responded to the comments, calling them "troubling," and accused the couple of "using their religion to insult and disparage the faith of an opposing candidate."
Abortion rights, climate change, and gun safety are all on the ballot this fall, and there are literally thousands of ways to get involved in turning our voters. Plug into a federal, state, or local campaign from our GOTV feed at Mobilize and help Democrats and progressives win in November.
RELATED STORY: From GPA to spelling errors, judge bends all logic in attempt to force teen to continue pregnancy
