Rick Scott favors 15 week abortion ban in Florida over six, argues most voters agree

TALLAAHSSEE, Fla. – Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., came out in favor of a 15 week abortion ban for Florida instead of the six week ban that will go into effect on May 1, according to The Hill.

He believes that Florida has “way more consensus” when it comes to 15 weeks. He also said that he supports exceptions with a 15 week ban for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

“So if I was writing a bill, I’d think that 15 weeks with the limitations is where the state’s at,” he told The Hill. “I think it’s important we do what there’s consensus for.”

The outlet specifically asked Scott if he supported Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six week ban signed into law last year. In response, he simply reiterated his position on how he would sign a 15 week ban.

The Hill said that Scott is still in support of restricting abortion, but wants to put more focus on how Democrats support abortions until “shortly before birth.”

“I’ve been pro-life, and I think we need to continue to the importance of being pro-life and I think the other thing is we ought to be very clear that Democrats are barbaric. They want — they’ve already voted to allow abortion up until the moment of birth,” he said.

The Florida Democrat Party reported that Scott was in favor of increasing abortion restrictions when he repeated his position on the issue during an interview with Spectrum News 13.

He spoke on how, as governor, he would have signed a six week ban, like DeSantis did. However, he still believes a 15 week ban fits more of the consensus.

“If I was the sitting governor and the six week abortion ban came in front of me, I would sign it,” he said. “I’ve always said I would sign it.”

“I think if you go around the state of Florida and you talk with people, I think the consensus would be that people are okay with a 15 week abortion ban,” he added.

When publicizing his comments, the Florida Democrats failed to add the latter half of the details relating to his reaffirmed 15 week position that he believes has the most agreement amongst Floridians.

Scott is currently running for reelection to his U.S. Senate seat in 2024. His main Democratic opponent is Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former U.S. representative from Florida. He also faces figures such as businessman Keith Gross in the Republican primary.

The latest Emerson poll has Scott up by seven points in the general election against Mucarsel-Powell.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include new comments from Scott regarding abortion.