Gov. Ron DeSantis during a press conference on Aug. 22, 2024, in Titusville. (Screenshot from Florida Channel)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is again expressing dissatisfaction that members of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation have yet to speak out publicly against Amendment 4, the ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.
DeSantis has been passionate in advocating against the proposal, which would repeal Florida’s existing ban on most abortions after six weeks and restore it legally to the “point of viability,” estimated at around 24 weeks.
The measure needs 60% support on the ballot to become state law. Almost daily, the governor has been speaking out about how Floridians need to reject the proposal, and in the past 10 days has been taking on the few GOP federal lawmakers who have yet to weigh in.
“You have people who have been elected as Republicans to have run saying that how passionately pro-life they are. Talking about how this is such an important issue and this and that,” DeSantis said Monday on WFSX 92.5 FM in Fort Myers with state GOP Rep. Spencer Roach.
“These are people that ran on this, saying that this was something that was so important. And so now you have this amendment, which would make Florida one of the most radical abortion jurisdictions in the world, and yet you have people that won’t even say that they’re going to vote no on it? I mean, forget about actually putting in some sweat to say they shouldn’t be in the Constitution and actually going out and doing something about it — they won’t even say that.”
This is the second time that DeSantis has mentioned his disappointment that not all 20 members of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation have publicly opposed the measure. Speaking during the Republican Party of Florida’s Victory Dinner fundraiser earlier this month, DeSantis individually named each member of the Florida Cabinet and Congress who have opposed the measure, highlighting lawmakers who have made financial contributions.
The only Republicans he did not mention in that speech were Laurel Lee, Anna Paulina Luna, Bill Posey, and Brian Mast (who had released a statement saying that he opposed the measure a few days before).
Posey is not running for re-election, but the reluctance of Luna and Lee to speak publicly has become campaign fodder for their Democratic opponents.
“Luna is dodging questions on the FL abortion amendment, even from her own supporters,” Democrat Whitney Fox, who is running against Luna in Florida’s Congressional District 13 race, wrote last week on X. “She’s willing to force her extreme beliefs on you but is too afraid to answer honestly when challenged. There’s only one word for that: cowardice.”
Dripping hints
Luna hinted that she would vote against the measure when speaking to this reporter during a radio interview last month but refused to take a public stance.
“What I will tell you is that I am personally very pro-life and I’m not ever going to change that position,” Luna said on WMNF 88.5 FM in Tampa on Aug. 2.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“I think that as a federal legislator, that it would be wrong for me to tell the states what to do on these topics because that’s not what our founding fathers anticipated, so what I will tell people is to vote your conscience. I think you know how I will probably be voting on that, but again, that’s not my decision, that’s up for the people to decide.”
“Here’s the thing,” DeSantis said to Roach on Monday.
“What I have found is that you can’t expect politicians by and large to do the right thing for the right reason. Sometimes they’ll do the right thing because their feet are held to the fire, they fear the political consequences or whatever, but I think the people that are just willing to get out there, stand up for what’s right, do what’s right, because it is right, you know, those are few and far between, unfortunately.”
First Lady Casey DeSantis on Friday reposted a comment on X by a man who had linked to a POLITICO post quoting Luna saying that it was a states’ rights issue.
“The clear answer to whether FL should enact a constitutional amendment that allows abortions until birth, removes doctors from the process, and takes away parental consent for minors — which Amendment 4 would do — is: No,” Mrs. DeSantis wrote.
The proposed “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion’s ballot summary reads: “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. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
Campaign issue
Lee, who is running for re-election in Florida’s 15th Congressional District, which includes parts of Hillsborough, Polk, and Pasco counties, has also been silent on the issue, notes Pat Kemp, her Democratic opponent.
Lee did applaud the overturning of the Roe decision, saying she supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to let the states decide. But she has been silent about Florida’s recently enacted six-week abortion ban, declining to comment when asked where she stands on the law when asked by the Tampa Bay Times about the matter in April.
Several polls have shown the measure getting more than 60% required for passage, but the last major survey from Emerson College showed the measure falling short by getting 55% of the vote.