Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) provided a short essay on social media to commemorate the United States of America’s independence from Britain nearly 250 years ago. The Florida governor emphasized the notion that the rights enshrined in the Constitution come from a Higher Power, not the government itself, among other points.
248 years ago, 56 men signed a declaration announcing independence from Great Britain and asserting that individual rights are gifts from God, not a courtesy of the state.
They pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the cause.
They knew the stakes: their signatures…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) July 4, 2024
“248 years ago, 56 men signed a declaration announcing independence from Great Britain and asserting that individual rights are gifts from God, not a courtesy of the state. They pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the cause. They knew the stakes: their signatures on the declaration would, in the event the revolution failed, become their own death warrant. They were leading, not following — most colonists either remained loyal to the British crown or were unwilling to take sides,” said Gov. DeSantis.
He continued by reinforcing the idea that God is a prevalent factor in the creation of America. “The battle ahead was difficult, and they never had great odds of actually winning against the most powerful nation on earth. The ultimate victory in the battle for independence remains a watershed moment in history, powered by the stirring words of the Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ Happy Fourth of July and God bless the patriots who risked everything so that we could be free!”
Recently, Gov. DeSantis released a video directed toward Floridians on his personal social media account providing a rationale for voting no against Amendment 4 in the upcoming November election. The amendment claims it would protect an abortion procedure in the Sunshine State up until viability – which is estimated between 20-24 weeks.
However, Gov. DeSantis argues this amendment would enshrine abortion privileges up until the moment of birth despite its wording.
“One, what does the amendment do? Well, it completely eliminates not just the Heartbeat Protection Act, but also the 15-week protections, and even it eliminates parental consent for minors with respect to abortion. That's something that is in our statutes. It's something that's very common sense. This amendment would eliminate that. And abortion would be the one thing that a minor could go behind their parents’ back and do without consent. Everything else in medical would require parental consent. They're taking this out. So it does eliminate an important parental right with this amendment,” said Gov. DeSantis.
“The other thing it does is it guarantees abortion all the way till the moment of birth. And it's written in a way to try to massage that but basically, if you have a 'healthcare provider' [who] says that there should be an abortion, then you can do it. It doesn't even require a physician,” DeSantis concluded.
The amendment reads as follows:
“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.”
