For the second time in two days, Gov. Ron DeSantis and pro-life doctors hosted a campaign event against Florida's proposed abortion amendment, arguing it will replace licensed physicians with a "clerk at Planned Parenthood" and greenlight abortion for "no reason at all" until the moment of birth.
Held at Jacksonville's Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Gov. DeSantis joined forces with the group Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4 (FPAA4) to discuss the "blizzard of lies" propagated by groups promoting Amendment 4, which would overturn Florida's six-week ban and enshrine abortion access until viability in the state constitution.
"You have this ill-defined [amendment] and they did that for a reason, because the whole idea is to try to jam this through with a blizzard of lies. The whole thing is built on fraud...the whole thing is based on deceit," DeSantis said at the Tuesday event, slamming terms like "healthcare provider" and "fetal viability" as intentionally vague phrases that he argues will lead to the elimination of licensed doctors and abortion on demand.
Amendment 4's language insists that no law can ban abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the woman's health as determined by a healthcare provider. In Florida law, "healthcare provider" is defined as a physician, osteopathic physician, podiatric physician, or advanced practice registered nurse. "Viability" is listed as the stage of fetal development when the fetus can survive outside of the womb, which is generally accepted to be around 24 weeks of development.
That 24-week mark has spooked Amendment 4 detractors, who worry that aborting a fetus at six months—the beginning of the third trimester—will cause pain for the fetus. Moreover, they argue, the ballot measure would allow later-term abortion for "no reason at all" or simply because the woman is having a "headache or some mental health issues."
"So you would be able, if this passed, to have [a fetus that's] six months in the womb; fully formed baby heartbeat, can feel pain, sucking its thumb. You see it on the ultrasound. You see the face—and that would be able to be snuffed out for no reason whatsoever," DeSantis said, claiming that the amendment will lead to an extra 40,000 abortions per year in Florida and that most of the later-term abortions involve "dismembering" the fetus.
"That would be in the Constitution of the State of Florida if this passed."
In 2007, the Supreme Court upheld a ban on "partial-birth abortions" during the second trimester that involved dilating a woman's cervix, extracting some of the fetus, and then puncturing the head. There's been a slew of near-philosophical debates on when a fetus can feel pain, with doctors' estimates ranging between three to after six months of pregnancy. The position of most major medical organizations is that a fetus isn't capable of feeling pain until at least 24 to 25 weeks (a little after six months).
Four FPAA4 doctors spoke at the event, and all echoed DeSantis' fears. One told a horror story of a woman who had a botched abortion resulting in her "small bowel hanging from her vagina,"; another lamented the mental health struggles she faced after her two abortions, and a third revealed that she sent out an email to her 3,500 patients advocating against Amendment 4.
Of note, FPAA4's political advertising is paid for by the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs, one of the groups that tried (and failed) to restrict access to the abortion pill.
"It's really grotesque, but you got to go into this," DeSantis said. "Eyes wide open. If you're someone that's going to vote, just know what you're voting for.
"The truth will set you free; live not by lies."
DeSantis held an anti-Amendment 4 press conference on Monday in Coral Gables and will host another at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. His wife, Casey DeSantis, will have her own event at 2 p.m. in Bartow. These ramped-up anti-abortion affairs coincide with the first week of early voting.
