The nation’s main anti-abortion group on Monday referred to as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failure to help federal abortion restrictions “unacceptable” — a blow for the Florida Republican, who has handed one of the vital restrictive abortion legal guidelines within the nation.
Susan B. Anthony Professional-Life America was responding to DeSantis’ current interview“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2fZ2-C5L0″,”_id”:”00000189-ad92-d41b-a19f-ed9f7e8e0001″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”00000189-ad92-d41b-a19f-ed9f7e8e0002″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>current interview with conservative commentator Megyn Kelly, wherein the governor stated abortion coverage could be finest determined by the states.
“I’ve been a pro-life governor,” stated DeSantis, who signed into regulation a controversial six-week ban on the process in Florida. “I’ll be a pro-life president and I’ll come down on the side of life.”
DeSantis informed Kelly he would “be a leader with the bully pulpit to help local communities and states advance the cause of life,” however that he lacked confidence that Congress would do “anything meaningful” on the problem.
“I really believe now in our society it’s really a bottom-up movement, and that’s where we’ve had most success. — Iowa, South Carolina, Florida — and I think you’re going to continue to see a lot of good battles there.”
In response, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Professional-Life America, criticized the governor, saying that calling for abortion restrictions regardless of obstacles in Congress “is where presidential leadership matters most.”
“Gov. DeSantis’s dismissal of this task is unacceptable to pro-life voters,” Dannenfelser stated. “A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight.”
SBA Professional-Life’s condemnation of DeSantis’ federal abortion coverage comes as his marketing campaign is leaning extra aggressively on courting the evangelical vote in Iowa in an try to shut the more and more extensive hole between him and Donald Trump. SBA Professional-Life has been essential of the previous president in addition to different candidates within the race — together with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley — for failing to undertake the 15-week customary the group has referred to as for 2024 Republican candidates to embrace.
Whereas SBA has vowed to oppose any candidate who doesn’t embrace that 15-week customary, the group hasn’t but taken any public steps to take action apart from issuing statements condemning candidates’ remarks.
Bryan Griffin, press secretary for DeSantis’ marketing campaign, in a press release to POLITICO touted his file in Florida, saying the governor “delivers results and acts, especially when it comes to protecting life.”
“He does not kowtow to DC interest groups,” Griffin stated. “This unjustified assault on him is one other instance of the DC political video games which have seen conservatives falter in Washington whereas Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida.”
When DeSantis formally announced his presidential bid in May, SBA sang his praises. Dannenfelser heralded the governor for “transforming the Sunshine State from a late-term abortion haven to one of the best states in the nation for unborn children and mothers.”
Despite Trump’s appointments of conservative Supreme Court justices that paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, the former president has since kept a distance from the anti-abortion movement — touting his work in the past but suggesting the issue is for states to decide.
Dannenfelser in April called Trump’s position a “morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate to hold.” A few weeks later, however, Trump attended a meeting with Dannenfelser, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, after which she called the meeting “terrific.”
A person with knowledge of the meeting previously told POLITICO Dannenfelser and others involved in the movement were holding out hope that Trump would eventually embrace“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/18/anti-abortion-leaders-trump-national-ban-00097675″,”_id”:”00000189-ad92-d41b-a19f-ed9f7e8e0003″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”00000189-ad92-d41b-a19f-ed9f7e8e0004″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>holding out hope that Trump would eventually embrace their 15-week standard — though he has still failed to do so.
And after Haley repeatedly declined this spring to get behind a specific federal policy proposal“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/25/nikki-haley-address-abortion-directly-00093799″,”_id”:”00000189-ad92-d41b-a19f-ed9f7e8e0005″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”00000189-ad92-d41b-a19f-ed9f7e8e0006″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>declined this spring to get behind a particular federal coverage proposal to limit abortions, she too acquired dinged by SBA. After holding an abortion coverage speech on the group’s Arlington headquarters in April — one the place she additionally declined to embrace the 15-week customary they anticipated — Haley, in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” in Could, stated most federal limits had been “not realistic,” given gridlock in Congress. Dannenfelser responded on the time, calling Haley’s reply “not acceptable.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), in the meantime, have every stated they might signal a 15-week nationwide abortion ban into regulation, although Scott initially waffled on how far he would go as president if offered with a federal abortion regulation.
