earlier this month. “We’d like a complete abortion ban in the state of Florida — similar to what Texas and Oklahoma, and several other red states have enacted … We would like Florida to follow her sister red states in completely prohibiting abortion.”
With a Republican supermajority in both chambers and a vocal anti-choice leader in DeSantis, it would be extremely easy to enact harsher abortion restrictions in Florida. But DeSantis’ expected 2024 presidential run is likely the reason for his inaction. On a national level, a six-week or near-total abortion ban may make him too extreme for many voters. But DeSantis will likely face a crowded far-right Republican primary pool, including former President Donald Trump — and he’ll need a more extreme ban on his track record to even compete.
Several Florida Democrats told HuffPost earlier this month that they expect DeSantis will definitely support more restrictions, it’s just a matter of when. Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner have said they’d like to further restrict abortion. Passidomo recently mentioned the possibility of a 12-week ban that would include exceptions for rape and incest survivors, which the current 15-week ban does not include.
