- Republican lawmakers in Florida have introduced a six-week abortion ban.
- Republican presidential candidates are usually anti-abortion.
- We face an uncertain future as to how DeSantis will handle this issue.
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis faces a delicate balancing act on the issue of abortion as he heads into the state’s legislative period.
Under the glare of the national spotlight, anti-abortion opponents are pressuring governors to further restrict abortion.The earliest opportunity to do so begins Tuesday, when Republican state legislators submitted a bill This makes abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy in Florida.
Republican candidates have supported the Pregnancy Pregnancy Policy in past presidential elections. But the 2024 White House election will be the first presidential election since the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
since then, Nearly half of US states Restricting or outright banning abortion. Meanwhile, the risk of voters seeing a candidate as over-the-top remains uncertain, and a strict ban during a general election could become a political liability.
Public opinion on abortion is mixed. gallup show Most people in the US support legalizing abortion, and more want legislation not strict Nothing more.
Many Republican midterm candidates are hesitant to tackle abortion in the 2022 cycle, with Democrats in Congress believing the abortion ban following Roe’s death has stemmed a ‘red wave’. .
Democrats denounce Republicans on the spot for the issue, vote on access to abortion, and court decisions snowball to destroy other rights, including access to birth control and same-sex and interracial marriage. said it would.
DeSantis has described himself as a “pro-life” and said he would “welcome” such legislation, but he has done so for many other policy priorities, from curbing illegal immigration to reducing it. In the same way, it’s not leading from the front on restrictions on abortion.Taxes.
If DeSantis runs for president, he will face off against former President Donald Trump. He is what anti-abortion groups often call “the most pro-life president in history.” egg. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also expected to run, has a strong national anti-abortion record alongside Trump.
But the impact of Florida’s six-week stay-at-home order goes beyond politics. Florida is the only state in the Southeast that allows her to have an abortion up to 15 weeks. The early closure will limit abortion access for millions of travelers coming to Florida for abortions from neighboring states and countries.
The sixth week of gestation is when the embryo starts to get its heart going, but it’s also a difficult time for a patient to know she’s pregnant without a test.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his state address at a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Phil Sears/AP Photo
Anti-abortion groups want federal regulation
DeSantis signed legislation last year, under fanfare with anti-abortion groups, to make the current 15-week ban into law. We are currently in litigation because the Florida Constitution contains a right to privacy.
When sessions kicked off in Tallahassee on Tuesday, the path to Florida’s six-week abortion ban seemed clearer than it had been months ago.
Republicans have a two-thirds majority in Congress, and Florida Senate Speaker Kathleen Passidomo told reporters on Tuesday that the rape and incest exemption is not part of the current law. He said he supported a six-week ban.
The comments differed from last year when Passidomo said he supported limiting abortions for up to 12 weeks.
Asked about Tuesday’s six-week ban, DeSantis told reporters he hadn’t seen the bill as it was filed, but he hoped the law would be written in such a way that no further ban would go into effect unless the court did. Suggested…green light for Florida’s 15-week ban.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Student for Life of America, told Insider that ahead of the 60-day session, he is working with districts in Passidomo to pressure leaders to move forward. Supporters of the organization called for legislation to “protect life at conception” at a press conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday.
“Looking at my life record in Florida, it could have been a lot better,” Hawkins said in an interview with Insider. “DeSantis and Florida need to show leadership on this issue.”
Hawkins said a 12-week suspension would not give him “the qualifications we seek” for DeSantis’ pursuit of the Republican nomination.
But Caitlin Connors, the southern regional director of the influential anti-abortion group SBA List, did not voice the same complaints against DeSantis as Students for Life… to the law.
“Congress needs to figure out what the consensus is. We are encouraging things like the Heartbeat Bill to make sure those protections are implemented.” Connors said, referring to the six-week ban.
Traversing anti-abortion groups before elections is potentially problematic. Advocates pour millions of dollars into campaigns, knock on district doors, and phone banking at speeds that rival those of many other causes.
Marilyn Musgrave, SBA List’s vice president of government relations, told Insider that the group would only support presidential candidates who support nationwide abortion restrictions. , or six weeks, and the organization’s leaders will talk to every candidate who runs for office, she said.
The group is still deciding whether it will endorse in the primary and what criteria it will use to endorse, she added.
She and other anti-abortion opponents disagree on the premise that Republicans should try to avoid the topic of abortion, and in the midterms, Republicans should put Democrats on the floor about looser restrictions. said it was
“When looking at specific races, some candidates failed to articulate their pre-birth beliefs and pre-birth positions,” Hawkins said. I made my opponents talk about abortion, and it hurt them.”
Feb. 6, 2023 Sen. Lauren Book, Democrat, Plantation, Fla.
Phil Sears/AP Photo
Democrats vow to go to ‘war’ against 6-week ban
Democratic lawmakers in Florida who support abortion rights are outnumbered to block the abortion ban.
Polk County Minority Leader Fentris Driskle said in response to the governor’s speech, “Now I have less rights than my mother. At a press conference with reporters, she said that math is difficult.” but vowed the party would fight, arguing that the six-week ban was not widely supported among Floridians.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book of Plantation, Florida, accused the Republican Party of “scorched earth” over the abortion ban bill.
“That’s it. They’re here,” she said in a statement. “If it’s the war they want, it’s the war they’re going to get. This issue bridges partisan divisions and we won’t surrender as easily as they believe. Let’s go.”
The bill was also criticized by the White House. Echoing similar comments made by Vice President Kamala Harris during her abortion speech in Tallahassee last month, press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre called DeSantis “attacking my freedom to make medical decisions.” It is,” he criticized.
In a speech lasting less than half an hour, DeSantis appeared to suggest combining prenatal care with policies to help parents, including tax breaks on essential baby items. It was about abortion, in which he said Florida “is proud to stand for families, and we are proud to stand for lives.”
He also urged legislators not to “worry about talkative classes” during the session.
“We won’t back down and I can promise you this,” he said, “you haven’t seen anything yet.”