JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday again held an event to campaign against Amendment 4 alongside a handful of Florida doctors at a Jacksonville church.
DeSantis was at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on the Westside to speak out against the amendment, which involves abortion rights. The governor’s office touted the event as a “press conference” but did not take questions from the media that was in attendance.
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On Monday, DeSantis was in South Florida and had a similar news conference bashing Amendment 4. At both events, DeSantis was joined by doctors who also urged Floridians to vote against the amendment.
“After my daughter’s birth I could no longer pull the arms and legs off little babies just because they were unwanted,” said Dr. Kathi Aultman, a physician from Orange Park. “My opinion also changed after I saw women in my practice do well after keeping their unplanned pregnancies as opposed to women who were struggling with physician and emotional consequences of abortion.”
DeSantis said the proposed amendment lacks defined terms and contains deceptive language.
“This amendment, by the way, would lead to an extra 40,000 abortions a year in the state of Florida,” DeSantis claimed. “We already have thousands a month that take place under our current Heartbeat Bill. This would be way more than that, and would be bringing in people from other states, and we would become this major abortion tourist destination, which is not what we want for our state.”
DeSantis said the amendment has the potential to erode parental consent for minors’ abortions and non-physicians to perform abortions, due to the inclusion of the words “healthcare provider.”
The Amendment 4 text reads, “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.”
“You know what to do,” DeSantis said to the clapping crowd at the end of the event. “No definitions, no doctors, takes away parental consent, no limits, and they’re lying to you to try to pass it so vote no on Amendment 4.”
DeSantis, a Republican, has focused his official office on fighting the amendment, holding a campaign-like rally at state expense two weeks before the election.
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DeSantis' event Monday, which was capped with a prayer from the archbishop of Miami and the lieutenant governor asking people to not vote like atheists, came after the Department of Health’s top lawyer resigned over a letter he said the governor’s office forced him to send to television stations in an effort to stop a pro-Amendment 4 ad.
Seemingly in response to the event hosted by DeSantis , “Yes On 4″ held a press call on Tuesday featuring “a diverse coalition of abortion providers and physicians from across Florida, representing over 800 doctors who will officially endorse Amendment 4 and call on voters to Vote Yes on 4.”
“This comes as the State has launched a propaganda tour around the state with anti-abortion doctors spreading misinformation about Amendment 4 and Florida’s current abortion ban," the group said in a news release. “This overwhelming support from Florida’s medical community is in contrast to the State’s hand-picked, extremist provider voices, and sends a clear message: abortion care is healthcare.”
On the call, there were numerous stories shared of cases since Florida’s current 6-week ban went into effect.
“I had a patient who came in shortly after Florida’s abortion ban went into effect. Her membranes had ruptured at only 15 to 16 weeks. There was no chance her pregnancy would survive and there was a real risk that she would develop an infection. Yet because the pregnancy still had a heartbeat, her doctor had to consult with the legal team,” one doctor said.
A spokesperson on the call claimed some of these doctors' licenses have been threatened by state officials over their support of Amendment 4.
“Women’s lives are put at risk and this is happening right now. I had a patient whose water broke very early. But instead of providing immediate care, the hospital she went to told her that she had to wait until signs of infection or labor to get the care she needed,” said Dr. Samantha Baer.
More than 60% of Floridians must vote “yes” in order for Amendment 4 to pass, and it is expected to be a close vote, according to recent polls.
