JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will need the support of evangelical voters if he enters the 2024 Republican presidential race, signed a bill Thursday evening imposing one of the nation’s strictest abortion limits.
The Heartbeat Protection Act was passed by the Republican-led Florida House earlier Thursday in a 70-40 vote and headed to the governor’s desk. Mr. DeSantis gave his approval after having signaled last month that he would sign it into law.
“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” he said.
The measure bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions, aligning Florida with a dozen other Republican-led states that have moved to significantly restrict abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the issue to states.
Mr. DeSantis’ signing the bill will encourage the Republican Party’s pro-life evangelical base, which could help propel him in the early primary contests.
Polling shows that most voters, including those identifying as independents, do not support a ban on abortion as early as six weeks. Opponents say that is effectively a total ban because most women do not know they are pregnant at that time.
Some Republican strategists warn that Mr. DeSantis would be putting himself in political peril, especially after results of the November midterm elections and other state contests showed that new abortion restrictions were mobilizing Democratic voters and leading to the defeat of Republican candidates in general elections.
“I think it’s DeSantis’ biggest political mistake he’s made thus far as governor,” Republican Party strategist Ryan Girdusky told The Washington Times.
The bill will not take effect immediately. A year ago, Mr. DeSantis signed a bill banning abortion after 15 weeks. That law will remain in place until the Florida Supreme Court rules on several legal challenges.
Signing the six-week ban upholds Mr. DeSantis’ pledge to Florida’s pro-life base and could help him win the coveted evangelical vote in crucial presidential primary states such as Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation contest.
President Trump lost the Iowa caucuses in 2016 to Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. Some see a 2024 opening in Iowa for Mr. DeSantis, who places second to Mr. Trump in many national polls but has generally been more competitive in statewide polls, including in Iowa.
Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Drake University in Des Moines, said the evangelical vote is a critical factor in the Iowa caucuses and abortion remains one of the primary concerns. In 2016, nearly two-thirds of participants in the Republican caucuses identified as conservative evangelicals.
“In other words, they are a huge factor in the Iowa Republican Party,” Mr. Goldford said.
Many of those voters support Mr. Trump, but some are looking for an alternative, he said.
Mr. DeSantis has nearly tied Mr. Trump in some Iowa polls and has surpassed him in others while trouncing a list of other Republican candidates.
Evangelical voters will be looking for a candidate who is willing to impose stricter abortion limits.
“The next step is to eliminate it, state by state, or a national ban,” Mr. Goldford said. “That’s their ultimate goal. Getting rid of Roe means that they have an opening, but that doesn’t mean they’re done with abortion.”
Mr. DeSantis could tout his fresh signature on the six-week ban.
Mr. Trump can promote his impressive pro-life record, including the appointments of three Supreme Court justices whose votes provided the majority to overturn Roe, one of the longest-held goals of the pro-life movement.
Mr. Trump has been less specific about additional abortion restrictions or whether he supports a ban beyond six weeks of pregnancy.
“President Trump’s unmatched record speaks for itself — nominating pro-life federal judges and Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending taxpayer-funded abortions, reinstating the Mexico City Policy that protects the life of the unborn abroad, and many other actions that championed the life of the unborn,” a Trump spokesperson told The Washington Times when asked about a six-week ban. “There has been no bigger advocate for the movement than President Trump.”
The new Florida law provides exceptions in cases of rape and incest and to protect the mother’s life, but it requires documentation in the form of a court order, police report or doctor’s confirmation.
The bill would ban doctors from providing abortion pills over the phone and would require the pills to be delivered in person.
The six-week ban is at odds with public opinion on abortion access. A Pew poll conducted less than a year ago found that only 21% of Americans think abortion should be banned after six weeks, when a fetal heartbeat is typically detected.
A Wall Street Journal poll in April 2022 found that 48% of voters strongly or somewhat favored a 15-week ban. That is the limit in the legislation Mr. DeSantis signed last year that is tied up in the Florida Supreme Court.
The White House on Thursday called the Florida measure “extreme and dangerous.”
“The ban flies in the face of fundamental freedoms and is out of step with the views of the vast majority of the people of Florida and of all the United States,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, called the six-week ban “a pretty stupid political move” for Mr. DeSantis after midterm election results showed the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe.
Republicans lost the critical support of suburban women, significantly reducing a predicted red wave. In the Wisconsin Supreme Court election last week, the issue of abortion access helped propel a liberal Democrat to victory.
“If DeSantis ends up winning the Republican nomination, the six-week ban will hurt him with swing voters in the general election,” Mr. Coker said. “The current 15-week ban would have made it much easier for voters nationwide to get past the issue and put more focus on other issues that are more Republican-friendly right now.”
While the Florida Legislature debated the bill Thursday, Mr. DeSantis was the featured speaker at the Summit County Lincoln Day Breakfast in Akron, Ohio. He did not discuss abortion but told the audience that he doesn’t watch polls.
“A leader is going to set out a vision, execute the vision, deliver results,” Mr. DeSantis said. “And guess what happens when you do that? The polls change in your favor. So get ahead of public opinion. Don’t be captive to what these polls say.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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