On Thursday, the Governor of "citadel of freedom" Florida, Ron "Bootsie" DeSantis, sealed his fate as a potential general election candidate by declaring war on a woman's right to make her health care decisions:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that would ban most abortions in the state after six weeks, according to a release from the governor’s office late Thursday night.
The six-week ban would not go into effect until the state Supreme Court overturns its previous precedent on abortion.
“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in the release.
The law would make Florida one of the most restrictive states in the country to obtain an abortion and follows moves by other Republican-led states to swiftly curb the procedure since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. The measure passed the state Senate on April 3 and the Florida House on Thursday before heading to DeSantis’ desk for his signature.
Under the law, most abortions in Florida would be banned after six weeks. Opponents of the legislation have argued that six weeks is before many women know that they are pregnant.
“Let’s be clear about the silent part: You just don’t want women to have choice,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, said Thursday during debate on the bill.
Victims of rape, incest and human trafficking could obtain an abortion up to 15 weeks into a pregnancy, under the legislation, if the woman provides a restraining order, police report, medical record or other evidence.
The bill would also ban doctors from prescribing an abortion via telehealth and require medication for abortion be dispensed by a physician, not by mail.
Bootsie already senses he's the meatball dog that caught the car:
Though DeSantis has signaled his support for further restrictions on abortion in Florida, the typically outspoken governor has remained uncharacteristically reserved about where he thinks lawmakers should draw the line. Asked at a March news conference if he supported exemptions for rape and incest until 15 weeks, DeSantis called it “sensible” and said he would “welcome pro-life legislation,” but quickly pivoted to another topic.
More recently, at fraud family Falwell's Liberty University yesterday, Bootsie never mentioned his just- signed forced birth bill, opting to go to his standard magic racist incantation word:
To hear Ron DeSantis tell it, Florida is the greatest state that has ever existed. No. 1 in all the metrics. The very best at everything. The only thing Florida isn’t good at is being woke, because Florida is where “woke goes to die.”
Florida’s Republican governor extolled the unwoke virtues of the Sunshine State at one of the nation’s largest Christian universities Friday morning. But he sidestepped one very timely matter — the six-week abortion ban he signed into law not 12 hours earlier. [snip]
... DeSantis ignored the law altogether in his 20-minute remarks, except for a nod to the “sanctity of life.” The omission was glaring considering the timeliness (DeSantis had just signed the bill last night) and setting (a university with thousands of young evangelical voters who packed its weekly convocation).
He can run, but he can't hide. Democrats and pro- choice advocates won't be shy about bringing up Bootsie's radical, anti- women policy at every opportunity:
“We’re going to make him own this, and his agenda, everywhere he goes,” said a national Democratic operative granted anonymity to discuss party strategy. “Goes to Michigan? Abortion ban. Goes to Ohio next week? Abortion ban. And that will take different forms but we’ll hang this incredibly toxic abortion ban and his agenda around his neck with different tactics.” [snip]
“Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations will make sure everyone knows his dangerous and radical record on abortion rights,” Jenny Lawson, vice president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund said in a statement. The organization is considering door-to-door canvassing, digital ads and direct mail, Olivia Cappello, a spokesperson said in a recent interview.
The Planned Parenthood network has poured millions of dollars into voter outreach in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year. In the leadup to the decision, arms of the organization announced a $16 million ad campaign, and spent more than $50 million on the 2022 midterms a few months later.
It bears repeating that the anti- medical abortion pill, forced- birth policy of the Christofascist Republican Party is wildly unpopular. From a February PRRI poll:
- Six in ten oppose laws that do not allow abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother (36% favor vs. 60% oppose).
- More than six in ten oppose laws that ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy (34% favor vs. 63% oppose)
- More than seven in ten oppose laws that make it illegal to use or
receive through the mail FDA-approved drugs for a medical abortion, also
known as the abortion pill (26% favor vs. 72% oppose)
In subcontracting his political career to the forced birth Christofascists, Bootsie joins other Republican Presidential wannabes in appeasing the un-appeasable, whose vision of an American Gilead is the recipe for electoral disaster. We happily look forward to the reckoning.
BONUS: Scott Lemieux noticed Bootsie's problem, too.
BONUS II: Take The Onion's Florida history test!
(Photo: We never get tired of this.)
