Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has warned that his state’s pro-life movement is facing an existential crisis if voters support a constitutional amendment in November.
According to The Tampa Bay Times, DeSantis told an audience at a Jesuit High School this week that the proposed amendment would effectively kill the state’s efforts to restrict abortion.
“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 explained.
“If you look at the state of Florida, we do not have a pro-life majority,” he continued. “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.”
Under the proposed referendum, voters will be asked to support Amendment 4, which would ban the state from reducing any abortion procedures before 24 weeks or later in pregnancy “when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
DeSantis, meanwhile, criticized the Florida Supreme Court for allowing the amendment to appear on the ballot in the first place.
Like many Republican states in the wake of the overturning of Roe vs Wade, Florida has implemented a six-week abortion ban that has been fiercely opposed by Democrats and other groups uninterested in the value of unborn life.
“We’re here because the majority of the Florida Supreme Court was derelict in their duties,” DeSantis said.
“They did not have the courage to do what was right, because they would have been criticized for nixing this,” he added. They caved.”
Similar referenda have taken place in other states, including Ohio, Kentucky, and Kansas. Sadly, the pro-life position has been defeated every single time.
However, the proposed amendment in Florida will require a majority of 60 percent, meaning Democrats face an uphill battle.
Polling data currently puts the race within the margin of error, although the pro-choice side is still expected to win majority support.
