DeSantis' approach in Florida mirrors that of many Republicans nationwide, who during campaign season have been avoiding talk of abortion and how states should respond to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Like DeSantis, GOP leaders stay quiet Like DeSantis, neither Passidomo nor Renner are speaking publicly about what could be next, declining to respond to requests for interviews on the topic. Also remaining quiet are those who spearheaded the 15-week law approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature in mostly party-line votes.
Rep. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, who will move unopposed to a Senate seat next month, and Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, are expected to continue leading efforts that could further restrict abortion in Florida. But they also were unwilling to respond to questions about what plans they may have. And another Republican lawmaker, who said at a rally in May that he would file a bill banning abortion outright, declined to weigh in for this story. Orange City Rep. Webster Barnaby did not return several calls and an email to his office. Some advocacy organizations in favor of tougher restrictions also were reluctant to wade into specifics. A Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops spokeswoman declined to make Executive Director Michael Sheedy available for an interview or answer a list of written questions. Instead, the group released a statement from Christie Arnold, associate for social concerns and respect life: “We are hopeful that the Florida legislature will further reduce the harm of abortion in Florida before the end of the next legislative session,” she said. “We also look forward to supporting proposals to assist expectant mothers and families in need.” The leader of Florida Right to Life, which favors tougher abortion restrictions, said she was focused on the election and thus hadn’t yet begun working on legislation. However, president Lynda Bell echoed Stemberger’s prediction about a six-week ban.Whether such a bill would include exceptions for rape or incest, Bell said she didn’t yet know. She advocates for exceptions to save the life of the mother, and she would still consider a bill with rape exceptions to be “pro-life,” she said, because abortions under those circumstances are so rare. Last year, 126 of 79,817 abortions performed in Florida, or less than 1%, were performed due to rape or incest, according to Agency for Health Care Administration data. Meantime, at least one resident is leading his own effort to further restrict abortions. Mark Minck, who described himself as a lifelong Floridian frustrated by the Legislature’s lack of action, is circulating a petition to add a constitutional amendment to the 2024 ballot that would enshrine “the right to life of the preborn individual.” So-called fetal personhood laws could make abortion akin to homicide, creating a de facto outright ban. The proposed Human Life Protection Amendment provides for exceptions for miscarriages and to save the life of the mother “when accompanied by reasonable steps to save the life of the preborn individual.” Minck has until February 2024 to collect the required 891,589 signatures for the amendment to appear on the ballot. While the signature effort has just begun, Minck said, state records show the political committee connected to the amendment has raised about $86,000 since October 2019. Florida’s current, 15-week law has been in effect since July 1. But a Leon County court ruled the law likely violates the state constitution’s privacy provision, which the state Supreme Court ruled 33 years ago protects the right to abortion. The legal challenge comes from a group of abortion clinics and a doctor and the state’s appeal of the lower court decision is expected eventually to make its way to the state Supreme Court, which now has a conservative majority. DeSantis, who has named four of the seven justices on the court, expects it to reverse years of precedent and rule that Florida’s privacy amendment — added by voters in 1980 — was never intended to protect abortion. Such a reversal would prove similar to what the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court did in overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision in June. While awaiting an eventual ruling by state justices, DeSantis and top Republicans say they can’t really say where they’ll go on abortion.Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, a former Planned Parenthood director in Florida, scoffs at that, saying Republicans are steering clear of the issue only because they know it could hurt them with voters in November.“They have to avoid an honest answer because of the backlash they know they would feel,” Eskamani said. She also said that DeSantis and other leaders citing concern over how courts may rule on the 15-week ban conflicts with their past eagerness for swift action on other hot-button issues, without expressing concern of being stopped by a judge. A host of recent Florida laws, including new penalties for violent demonstrators, regulations on social media companies and an effort to bar cities from not enforcing federal laws against undocumented immigrants all were found unconstitutional by courts, Eskamani pointed out. “Why do they now suddenly want to wait for the court?” she asked, adding that most abortion rights advocates are convinced the constitutional privacy protection will be eliminated by state justices. Miami Republican Rep. Daniel Perez, poised to become House Speaker in two years, said nothing is certain about what the state may do next. “As far as what we’ll see next session relating to abortion, we still don’t know. It’s still a little premature,” said Perez, among the few state Republicans willing to speak on the issue. Perez said that Renner, who will be sworn-in as speaker next month, is waiting until the elections are over to consider the next steps on abortion. Rep. Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican who was among more than three dozen House co-sponsors of Florida’s 15-week legislation, said Democrats are just using the issue to rally their unenthusiastic voting base. “They’re trying to distract voters from the fact that inflation is skyrocketing and everyone is paying a high price at the pump,” he said. Andrade said he would support a complete ban on abortion in Florida, except to save the life of a mother. But he added that efforts to further restrict abortion must coincide with a broadening of state social services to support parents and improvements in early childhood education.“Until a bill’s proposed,” he said, “I don’t know if he has to say anything.”John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport. Kathryn Varn is statewide enterprise reporter for the Gannett/USA Today Network - Florida. You can reach her at kvarn@gannett.com or 238-5315.
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