DeSantis news – Protestors in favor of abortions – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Stephanie Kenner
In order to overturn a landmark piece of legislation that he signed into law, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration’s allies have made a concerted campaign to increase opposition to an amendment on the November ballot that would entrench abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
Months after it was approved for the ballot, an election police unit DeSantis established began looking into allegations of fraud in the signature-gathering process, one state agency threatened local television stations that had broadcast an ad in favor of the ballot measure, and another state agency launched a website criticizing it in recent weeks.
Democrats and Republicans in the state view the harsh actions as part of DeSantis’ attempt to regain political power in the state and nationally after a difficult year in which his presidential campaign failed and several school board candidates he supported lost primaries.
The governor undoubtedly has political stakes in this situation. A seasoned Florida Republican who had previously worked for DeSantis, who asked not to be named, said, “He received a boost politically after his hurricane response, but his standing politically is not what it once was after his loss on the national level and a less-than-ideal primary for candidates he backed.” “It will be another severe setback if he loses on the amendments. It’s a continuation of a series of political setbacks for someone who had few for years, but I don’t think it really ruins his political career or anything.
Critics of DeSantis go even farther, claiming that it is unethical and unlawful to use public funds to intervene in a political dispute.
Democratic state senator Jason Pizzo, who frequently criticizes DeSantis, said, “It is just plain nonsense to use state taxpayer money resources to go ahead and basically run a political campaign against the measure.” “He is conducting investigations and reports regarding the validity, truth, and veracity of some of these petitions, which aims to jeopardize the process’s integrity.”
“To see our state spend millions of dollars in taxpayer resources on silencing women who are sharing their stories — it really speaks to just how out of touch these politicians are about this issue,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, the organization spearheading the effort to pass the ballot measure.
Known as Amendment 4, the bill would prohibit limits on abortions prior to embryonic viability and allow exceptions for “the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” It would essentially repeal the six-week abortion prohibition that DeSantis signed into law last year, which includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the woman’s life.
A website that disseminates information that supporters of the ballot measure claim is inaccurate was developed last month by a state-run health care institution.
According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s “Florida is Protecting Life” website, Amendment 4 “threatens to expose women and children to health risks” and “threatens to threaten women’s safety.” Regarding Amendment 4, the government website also states, “Don’t let the fearmongers lie to you.”
One of the organizations supporting the proposed amendment, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, filed a lawsuit last month to stop the website, but a state judge dismissed the case.
Additionally, the DeSantis administration has increased its efforts to look into claims that the organizations supporting the initiative engaged in fraud during the signature-gathering process.
DeSantis’ electoral police squad started looking into claims of fraud in the signature-gathering procedure that organizers used to try to get the initiative on the ballot last month, according to reports from The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
Additionally, the state secretary of state’s office released a comprehensive report last week accusing the committee behind the proposal of paying out-of-state signature gatherers and submitting fraudulent signatures and the signatures of voters who had passed away. Defenders of Freedom in Florida have refuted the claims.
The report and the probe pertain to signatures that were previously verified by state officials and surfaced following the state Supreme Court’s decision to put the item on the ballot.
Additionally, several television stations throughout the state that had broadcast an advertisement endorsing the ballot proposal received cease-and-desist letters from the state Health Department this month. On Wednesday, Floridians Protecting Freedom filed a lawsuit against department officials in federal court, alleging censorship and requesting that the advertisement be let to air.
Questions were not answered by representatives of the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Health Department, or the DeSantis administration.
DeSantis particularly addressed accusations against the Agency for Health Care Administration, defending its website, during a press conference last month. He declared, “Everything that is released is factual.” Electioneering is not what it is.
If successful, the larger initiatives by DeSantis and his supporters could assist the second-term Democratic state senator Pizzo “hold enough political sway for the moment” and prevent a “lame-duck situation.”
However, other state lawmakers said the efforts were the result of DeSantis continuing to uphold his anti-abortion credentials, both because he supports the cause and to set himself apart from former President Donald Trump.
Trump’s indecisiveness on abortion rights has set him apart from the most conservative members of the Republican Party. Although he eventually stated that he would vote against Amendment 4, he has regularly attacked Florida’s restriction on abortions beyond six weeks.
“Good policy is good politics,” has been the guiding principle of Gov. DeSantis’s operations. Despite being criticized for some of his choices, he was frequently praised for them, according to Republican state representative Alex Andrade. “I believe he’s taking the same approach, and it’s a chance to set himself apart from other party members who are prepared to stick to their belief that he will win a general election.
If he prevails in this battle, Andrade continued, “he’s added another dynamic to his conservative bona fides in the event that he runs for president again.”
Republicans and opponents of abortion rights in Florida have opposed the attempt at every stage for the past year, even before their most recent efforts against it gained momentum.
The language of the plan and the group’s efforts to gather signatures were contested by conservative lawyers. Before organizers had even signed their petitions, Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a brief asking the state Supreme Court to prevent the question from being on the ballot.
Despite the efforts of DeSantis and other Republicans in Florida, the ballot initiative still has a long way to go. Instead of passing with a simple majority, it needs the approval of 60% of voters, according to Florida law.
According to public polling, the measure does not meet the 60% requirement. The amendment’s supporters said they are still hopeful, but they also admitted that the flurry of countermeasures was making things more difficult.
Floridians will only become more irate as a result of these scare tactics and the waste of government resources. According to Brenzel of Floridians Protecting Freedom, “it’s not a political issue, and people can support politicians in some aspects of their lives and disagree with them on the issue of abortion.” “However, political meddling has undoubtedly been a story of this initiative that makes the task more difficult.”
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
