By Peter Pinedo
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 30, 2024 / 19:02 pm
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will vote “no” on a broad pro-abortion amendment set to appear on the ballot in Florida this November.
Earlier in the week Trump — who lives in Florida — was asked by an NBC reporter how he planned to vote on the amendment, which would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution. The state currently bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Trump responded that he believed that the six-week law is “too short,” telling the reporter: “I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.”
After facing significant backlash from the pro-life community for appearing to signal his support for the abortion amendment, Trump told Fox News on Friday that he would be voting against the measure.
He called the amendment “unacceptable” and accused Democrats of advocating abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
“The Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation, where you can do an abortion in the ninth month,” Trump said.
“And you know some of the states like Minnesota and other states have it where you could actually execute the baby after birth and all of that stuff is unacceptable.”
“So, I’ll be voting no for that reason,” the former president said.
Titled the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion or simply Amendment 4, the measure would invalidate both Florida’s six-week and 15-week pro-life protections for the unborn, allowing abortion without restriction prior to the point of fetal viability outside the womb.
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The amendment would further allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy if determined by a health care provider to be necessary for the health of the mother.
Pro-life commentators celebrated Trump’s announcement.
“To everyone who said pro-lifers should shut up about it, learn your lesson: THIS is why we raise a ruckus about the things that matter!” said conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey.
Lila Rose, president of the national pro-life group Live Action, a Catholic who in recent weeks has been a vocal critic of some of Trump’s abortion statements, also promptly welcomed the news.
“Thank you Donald Trump!” she wrote on X. “Please help the great people of Florida defeat this horrific amendment!”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser also weighed in, saying “President Trump is absolutely right, Amendment 4 is a radical measure that would force taxpayers to fund abortion, eliminate parental rights, take women’s health protections off the books and allow abortion throughout all of pregnancy – even in the seventh, eighth and ninth months.”
“We thank President Trump for shedding light on how extreme this measure is and call on all Republican leaders in Florida to follow the president’s example,” said Dannenfelser.
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The pro-life movement in Florida is making a major effort to defeat the amendment. Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told CNA last week that the Florida bishops would be collectively investing more than $1 million to raise awareness about the dangers of the amendment and to urge voters to reject it at the ballot box.
A recent poll by Mainstreet Research and Florida Atlantic University found that 56% of Florida voters support the amendment, which is just shy of the 60% required to pass.
