LAKE CITY, FL—Gov. Ron DeSantis is sticking by a controversial state health website that details the "threat" and "myths" of an abortion amendment, despite Democrats insisting that the website violates Florida statute.
He says they're lying.
"It's not an anti-Amendment 4 [site]...it's providing information about what Florida law is and the resources that are available under that law," DeSantis said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, stressing that the website is not "weighing in" on any amendment.
"If these left-wing groups are lying to you about what their amendment means, about Florida law, why would you trust them and vote for this left-wing amendment?" he continued, before calling for a new pro-Amendment 4 TV ad to be "taken off the air" because it is "contrary to what the statute is."
"I can understand why they're pitching a fit: because they want to lie," he added.
The website in question was created a few days ago by the state Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The site begs Floridians not to "let the fearmongers lie to you" and claims that "Amendment 4 threatens women's safety." One of the seven sections juxtaposes the amendment's "facts" and "myths", insisting: "We must keep Florida from becoming an abortion tourism destination state,"—a popular phrase used by the DeSantis administration.
Democrats pointed out that Florida statute both bans state employees from participating in political campaigns "for an elective office" while on duty and from using their "official authority" to influence "another person's vote or affecting the result" of an election.
DeSantis says AHCA is "simply telling the truth" about available resources, and has excoriated Democrats for "lying" about the website's legality and the terms of the current abortion ban. Democrat Sen. Shevrin Jones, meanwhile, has called DeSantis the liar, telling The Floridian, "Well, the Governor is lying when he claims it’s informative. It’s not informative; it’s political and misleading."
"It’s sad to constantly see this ‘rules for thee, but not for me’ mentality," Jones added.
Amendment 4 was borne from Florida's six-week abortion ban, passed in 2023 and enacted on May 1 of this year after the state Supreme Court decided it was legal. It requires women seeking an abortion to meet with two doctors before the six-week deadline: a feat that Democrats have called nearly impossible. In response to the ban, advocacy group Floridians Protecting Freedom collected nearly a million signatures—some of which the DeSantis administration is reviewing for potential fraud—to get Amendment 4 on the ballot.
