Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and religious leaders have slammed the effort to overturn the six-week abortion ban
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Former President Donald Trump said Florida's six-week abortion ban "is too short," signaling he could vote in favor of a ballot initiative to overturn the six-week ban on abortions in the state.
"I think the six-week is too short, there has to be more time," Trump told an NBC News reporter when asked how he will vote on Florida's Amendment 4 that will appear on the ballot for November elections. "I've told them that I want more weeks," he continued.
The reporter then pressed if Trump will vote in favor of the amendment.
"I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. Look, just so you understand, everybody wanted Roe v. Wade terminated for years, 52 years. I got it done. They wanted it to go back to the states. Exceptions are very important for me, for Ronald Reagan, for others that have navigated this very, very interesting and difficult path," Trump responded.
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BOZEMAN, MONTANA - AUGUST 09: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024, in Bozeman, Montana. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
The Trump campaign told Fox News Digital on Thursday evening that the 45th president has not yet revealed how he will vote on the Amendment.
"President Trump has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida, he simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
A pregnant woman stands for a portrait in Dallas, Thursday, May 18, 2023. According to provisional statistics for 2023 released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, April 25, 2024, U.S. births fell last year, in a substantial drop marking an apparent end to pandemic-related fluctuations and a return to a long-standing national decline. A little under 3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. last year, about 76,000 fewer than the year before. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed The Heartbeat Protection Act into law last year, which banned most abortions after six weeks of gestation. This year, Florida residents will vote on Amendment 4, Right to Abortion Initiative, which works to overturn the ban.
"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," the amendment reads.
Trump also addressed the interview and his remarks regarding Amendement 4 during an event in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday when he
"She asked me about abortion. And I handled it very nicely. Because you know what? That's so overplayed. We have abortion. We have the whole thing brought back into the states where it belongs. That's where everybody wanted it for years and years and years, and they are voting on it," he said of the interview with NBC News.
"And I happen to believe in the exceptions Ronald Reagan did, for life of the mother, rape, incest. The exceptions - probably 90% of the people [support exceptions]. But, you know, I was just telling this reporter the real problem, and the real radicals on that issue are the Democrats. Where you can have an abortion in the ninth month. And in six states, you're allowed to kill the baby after the baby is born," he added.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Republicans and religious leaders in the state have railed against the pro-choice amendment in Florida, including DeSantis who said the amendment potentially passing would represent "the end of the pro-life movement."
"If you care about building a culture of life in this state or this country, them winning in Florida I think really represents the end of the pro-life movement," DeSantis said earlier this month during an event at Jesuit High School in Tampa, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
"If you look at the state of Florida, we do not have a pro-life majority," DeSantis warned. "We’ve got a big chunk, but we don’t have a majority. If only people that are pro-life oppose it, it very well might pass."
Catholic leaders in the state have also slammed the amendment as "extremely grave" and urged all "Floridians of goodwill" to vote against it.
"We urge all Floridians of goodwill to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment. In doing so, we will not only protect the weakest, most innocent, and defenseless of human life among us but also countless women throughout the state from the harms of abortion," said the Catholic bishops of Florida in a statement on Amendment 4.
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Trump had previously voiced his displeasure with DeSantis signing the ban on abortion after six weeks last year, calling it a "terrible mistake" and "terrible thing."
HOWELL, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 20: Republican Presidential Candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump responds to a queston from a reporter after his remarks on August 20, 2024 at the Livingston County Sheriffs Office in Howell, Michigan. Trump is visiting Michigan this week to discuss "crime and safety" during a campaign event. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
The 45th president's comments come as Vice President Kamala Harris and her 2024 presidential campaign claim Trump would impose a federal abortion ban if re-elected to the White House, which Harris cited in her nomination acceptance speech last week at the DNC in Chicago.
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"Children who have survived sexual assault, potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. This is what’s happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand, he is not done. As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress," Harris said.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Trump has denied that he would impose a federal abortion ban, instead advocating that abortion laws be left up to individual states.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump's 2024 running mate, also addressed Democrats' claims that Trump would impose a federal ban if re-elected in an interview on Sunday.
"Democrats made the case this week, and beyond this week, that Donald Trump, if elected, will impose a federal ban on abortion if he wins. Now, Donald Trump says he won't. But can you commit, senator, sitting right here with me today, that if you and Donald Trump are elected, that you will not impose a federal ban on abortion?" "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker asked Vance in an interview that aired Sunday.
Former President Trump and vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
"I can absolutely commit to that, Kristen. Donald Trump has been as clear about that as possible. I think it's important to step back and say, ‘What does Donald Trump actually said on the abortion question, and how is it different from what Kamala Harris and the Democrats have said?’ Donald Trump wants to end this culture war over this particular topic."
"If… California wants to have a different abortion policy from Ohio, then Ohio has to respect California, and California has to respect Ohio. Donald Trump's view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions, because we don't want to have a non-stop federal conflict over this issue. The federal government ought to be focused on getting food prices down, getting housing prices down. Issues, of course, where Kamala Harris has been a total disaster," Vance continued.
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