Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis rallied pro-life supporters on Thursday, warning them that the passage of proposed Amendment 4 in the Sunshine State would “end the pro-life movement,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“If you care about building a culture of life in this state or this country, them winning in Florida, I think, really represents the end of the pro-life movement,” DeSantis told supporters at a Florida high school on Thursday.
The proposed amendment, which is to be voted on in November, would prevent lawmakers from banning abortion before a fetus is viable. The law would also allow for abortions when a mother's health was in jeapordy.
In May, the 6-week limit on abortions in Florida took effect, putting into practice a law passed in 2022 and expanded in 2023 following the governor’s approval. Amendment 4 would effectively undo the six-week ban and would give leeway if the patient’s healthcare provider deems the procedure necessary.
“If you look at the state of Florida, we do not have a pro-life majority,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got a big chunk, but we don’t have a majority. If only people that are pro-life oppose it, it very well might pass.”
Florida has long been seen as a bellweather state when it comes to assessing the nation’s temperature on divisive issues. In April, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declared Florida “ground zero” for the abortion debate.
“An extreme group of individuals in this state, led by the current governor, are prepared by almost any means to jam their radical right wing ideology down the throats of the people of this state as part of an effort to try to impose a nationwide abortion ban,” he said. “But we can stop them. We must stop them, and we will stop them together.”
Amendment 4 is the Democrats' attempt to stop the pro-life movement in Florida. DeSantis will seek to link the amendment to the upcoming president election in which former President Donald Trump currently leads Florida. DeSantis noted his disappointment in two of his own judicial appointees for allowing the bill to appear on the ballot at all.
“We’re here because the majority of the Florida Supreme Court was derelict in their duties. They did not have the courage to do what was right, because they would have been criticized for nixing this,” DeSantis said. “They caved.”
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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