(LifeSiteNews) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he expects voters to reject the pro-abortion amendment on the ballot in the Sunshine State this November, calling it a “very, very extreme” California-style proposal.
“Once voters figure out how radical both of those are, they’re going to fail,” said DeSantis, referring also to an amendment to legalize recreational marijuana. “They are very, very extreme.”
Thank you, @GovRonDeSantis, for exposing how vague the abortion amendment is. Florida is NOT California. pic.twitter.com/ahCbBi43yx
— SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) April 4, 2024
“I think as voters see that – and I think Florida voters over the past, you know, four or five (election) cycles have developed the skepticism on these amendments generally, because they’re always written in ways that are confusing,” he said. “You don’t necessarily know what the intent’s going to be. So I think that there’s a certain segment of voters, they default to just vote no on these things … these things cost tens of millions of dollars to get on (the ballot) – so somebody’s paying for that, and somebody’s gonna benefit from that.”
DeSantis also said of the ballot initiative on recreational marijuana, “Every part of Florida, not just South Florida, I see marijuana stores … but do we really need to do more? With that? Do we want to have more marijuana in our communities? I don’t think it’ll work out well, but it is a very, very broad amendment.” The state voted in favor of medical marijuana in 2016.
READ: Florida Supreme Court allows vote on extreme pro-abortion amendment in November
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that the proposed constitutional amendment, which would effectively create a “right” to abortion on demand, can be on the ballot. It needs 60 percent of voters to support it in order to succeed. The Florida Supreme Court also ruled that there is no “right” to privacy in the state constitution, allowing the state’s laws restricting abortion at 15 weeks and six weeks to go into effect.
Pro-lifers historically haven’t done well when it comes to ballot initiatives. Since 2022, pro-lifers have failed to either enact pro-life amendments or stop pro-abortion ones in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio, prompting much conversation among pro-lifers about the need to develop new strategies to protect life at the ballot box.
The 60 percent needed for the pro-abortion amendment to pass is higher than what the ballot initiatives in Ohio or Michigan required.
READ: University of Florida terminates all DEI employees to comply with law signed by DeSantis