WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis lasered in on the high-stakes abortion amendment on the ballot for voters in the Sunshine State, calling the measure a "bait and switch."
Amendment 4, which would end Florida's six-week abortion ban by enshrining abortion in the state's constitution, has been a pressure-point as Election Day nears.
On Tuesday, DeSantis held a press conference at the Grove Bible Chapel in Winter Garden, called "Doctors Against Amendment 4," to urge voters to vote "No" on the abortion amendment. The governor was joined by nearly a dozen doctors against the amendment.
"When people actually peel back the onion and see what this amendment is, they don't like it," he said. "And it loses a lot of support."
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DeSantis put the amendment on blast, condemning the legislation's "vague language," noting it could be read to allow elective abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy as deemed necessary by employees of abortion clinics, rather than solely doctors.
"It's interesting because it's written with no definitions," he said. "It's intentionally vague and deceptive… All they're doing is lying about Florida policies and laws about respecting life, both the life of the mother and the health of the mother, of course, but also the life of the child."
The amendment also does not define viability, typically understood to be around 20 to 25 weeks, DeSantis said.
DeSantis also said that the amendment does not define "health care provider."
"[Amendment 4] It says that an abortion can be greenlit all the way to the moment of birth by a ‘health care provider’," he said. "That's the term that they used. Well, a health care provider is not the same as a licensed physician."
"Florida law has always required that licensed physicians be the ones to be involved in performing these procedures. Some of them are very, very high risk. Sometimes there are a lot of complications that can happen," he said. "So you will have nonmedical doctors doing this.
"I don't know that there's any other state that has ever gone down that road."
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DeSantis said that another concern brought by the amendment is its language regarding minors getting abortions.
The text says that the amendment would not change the legislature's ability to require parents to be notified about a minor's abortion. However, it leaves out the legislature's authority to require parental consent for such a procedure.
DeSantis has criticized the proposed amendment as a "bait and switch" when it comes to parental rights.
"This amendment, if adopted, would be the first amendment in the history of the state of Florida to actually repeal a right. It will repeal the right of a parent to have to provide consent before their child undergoes an abortion," he said. "Right now in Florida, we have parental consent, not just for abortion, but for anything involving medical treatment for a minor. They can't give your kid an aspirin unless you consent."
"And that's the way it should be for parents. And yet, this amendment would permanently take this one issue and say the parents do not have the right to be in that decision-making process or to provide consent."
DeSantis pointed to the difference between parental notification and parental consent.
"What this amendment does, it gives a little bait and switch. The legislature says it requires parental notification, but that's not the same as consent," he said. "Notification can be sent via a postcard."
"The parent knows this is happening, but the parent can't stop it," DeSantis said. "The parent doesn't have the authorization and is not required to provide authorization. So it is repealing the right of a parent to provide consent for the minor."
Florida is one of the nine states with a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot to protect access to abortion. In Florida, the hot-button issue has been the most expensive – with about $150 million in ads, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact.
The amendment's language states, "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."
Former President Trump has shifted his stance on abortion during the election cycle, with the Republican nominee hoping to attract independents and some disillusioned Democrats, but running the risk of alienating his pro-life base.
Trump has countered Democratic attacks on the former president's abortion stance by stating he would leave abortion access to the states, as determined by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Trump notably opposes a federal abortion ban, but has remained opposed to late-term abortions. In July, the Republican Party abandoned its long-standing position of advocating for abortions.
Throughout Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, she has argued that Trump — who nominated three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade — is responsible for worsening medical care for women and that he would seek further restrictions.
Harris has cast her position on the topic as creating legislation to restore the national abortion right that was eliminated following Roe v. Wade.
She has also vowed to protect access to the abortion drug mifepristone, calling the drug "essential medication."
