DeSantis concerned Trump’s criticism of pro-life laws will help Florida abortion amendment

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed worries that comments from former President Donald Trump calling Florida’s six-week abortion ban a “terrible thing” will give steam to a ballot initiative codifying abortion protections via amendment.

“There’s going to be, potentially, on the ballot in Florida a referendum for a Constitutional amendment to basically have abortion-on-demand,” DeSantis told Glenn Beck on BlazeTV. “If that passes, that means the legislature can never do anything to protect life.

“Do you think they’re going to run ads to … Trump voters saying ‘Trump didn’t like this, vote the other way for us’? Of course they are,” he said. “They’re going to weaponize what he said to try to defeat the cause of life.”

“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider,” the amendment reads. “This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

According to the Florida Division of Elections, the amendment requires 891,523 signatures to make it onto the ballot in 2024. The division’s web page for the amendment reports that it has a “currently valid” total signature count of 298,122.

Florida passed, and DeSantis signed into law, two major abortion restriction laws since 2022.

Last year, Florida codified banning abortion in most cases after 15-weeks. This year, DeSantis signed a law banning the practice in most cases after six weeks.

However, the 15-week ban is being held up in the Florida Supreme Court. Should the court uphold the 15-week ban, the six-week ban will take effect.

The former president recently floated abortion restrictions after 15 weeks as a potential number for a large swath of the public to support, but said instances like Florida’s six-week ban are a “terrible thing.”

“I think what [Gov. Ron DeSantis] did was a terrible thing, a terrible mistake,” Trump said.

“Like Ronald Reagan before me, I believe in the three exceptions for Rape, Incest, and the Life of the Mother,” Trump said in response to criticism. “Without the exceptions, it is very difficult to win Elections, we would probably lose the Majorities in 2024, and perhaps the Presidency itself, but you must follow your HEART!”

“In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to talk about Abortion. This issue cost us unnecessarily, but dearly, in the Midterms.”

As Trump has pivoted on abortion, yearning for a more “compromised” approach, he has hit two all-time national polling highs over President Joe Biden.

Biden’s campaign has pushed back on Trump’s more drawn-back approach to abortion and pro-life laws, insisting that the former president is “responsible for extreme abortion bans nationwide.”