If Florida voters pass an abortion amendment in November, it could mean “the end of the pro-life movement” in the state, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Thursday at an event at Tampa Jesuit High School.
“If we care about building a culture of life in this state and in this country, I think their victory in Florida marks the end of the pro-life movement,” DeSantis told the packed crowd. Tampa Bay Times Reported.
The proposed abortion bill Amendment 4 On the ballot paper, Prohibits states from restricting abortion before viability (Approximately 24 weeks) or later in pregnancy only if “the patient’s health care provider determines that it is necessary to protect the patient’s health.”
If Florida voters pass the measure in November with at least 60 percent support, the abortion amendment would eliminate the state’s six-week limit and essentially create a permanent right to abortion in the state, which could only be overturned by another ballot measure or an uphill court battle.
DeSantis explained his reasons for voting against the amendment and assessed the current state of Florida politics.
“If you look at the state of Florida, you see that pro-lifers are not in a majority,” DeSantis said. “They’re a large percentage, but they’re not a majority. If only pro-lifers were opposed, there’s a good chance the bill would pass.”
He added that the real challenge for pro-life voters will be convincing Floridians who generally consider themselves “pro-choice” that the amendment is too extreme.
Six years ago, registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans by about 300,000, and in Florida, there have never been more registered Republicans than Democrats.
Republican voters now outnumber Democratic voters by 1 million, a big shift that few would have expected… https://t.co/MZ7m96s5TW
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2024
The Florida Republican Party also officially Opposed The amendments argued that Amendment 4, along with Amendment 3 on recreational marijuana, is too extreme for the state. Leader Evan Power said:
Floridians are confident that the Legislature has passed laws that reflect the state’s priorities. Amendments 3 and 4 are an unnecessary attempt by an ever-shrinking minority that knows the only way to gain support for their extreme policies is to confuse and mislead voters.
Additionally, Florida Republicans support the Legislature’s desire to make school board elections partisan, create constitutional rights to hunt and fish, and eliminate taxpayer costs of public election funding.
While the Florida Democratic Party lies dead by the wayside and outside dark money groups are trying to advance far-left ideology by confusing Florida voters, the Florida Republican Party is ready to correct the record and defeat the radical left while enshrining more rights for citizens in the Constitution.
DeSantis has spoken out before. Opposed the radical abortion amendment.
Various polls over the past few months have suggested the amendment will either narrowly fail or pass, often within the margin of error (see here, here, here, here, here and here).
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X. Follow.
