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She took back her power when she revealed her own sexual abuse as a child. Now State Senator LAUREN BOOK is working to provide that same power—and protection—to Florida’s youngest citizens. B Y PAIG E B OWE RS
tate Senator Lauren Book (D-Plantation) was horrified when she learned that Michael Mizrachy, a pediatrician in her home district, had been arrested on child pornography charges this past spring. But when Mizrachy sought to treat children via telemedicine, Book decided that his plans could not— and should not—come to pass. After all, her constituents brought their children to this man. And she brought her twins to him too. For Book, this was a matter of abused public trust, and she was going to hold Mizrachy—and other doctors like him—accountable for their misdeeds. Immediately, she filed Senate Bill 1934, which would suspend the license of any physician charged with sex crimes against children or possession of child pornography from seeing patients. Book’s bill passed both houses; at press time, it was awaiting Governor Ron De Santis’ signature. “The mechanism to remove a medical license is terrible in this state,” Book says. “There was a doctor prescribing opioids from his jail cell because he was still in good standing. And this pediatrician wants to see kids by telemedicine? If I weren’t a part of the legislative process, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do this. If a child is in danger of being hurt, I am always going to do what I can to help and protect them.” Book’s passion for championing the rights of women and children is born out of her own life experience. She is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, suffered at the hands of her family’s female nanny, but she says that experience has made her the person, mother, and fiery advocate she is today. A creator of mosaics—both in her life’s work and as a hobby— the 36-year-old has become adept at taking broken pieces and reassembling them into something more beautiful than they were before. Underestimate her at your own peril.
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