Ron DeSantis takes fire from the Right for ‘unacceptable’ abortion position

Ron DeSantis isn't happy with his Supreme Court. Image via AP.

Gov. Ron DeSantis may have signed the harshest abortion law in Florida history, but one anti-abortion group is flogging him for not going far enough as a presidential candidate.

In a statement, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser derided DeSantis for an alleged “dismissal” of the concerns of those who oppose reproductive rights.

“A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans. He should be the National Defender of Life. The American people have expressed a clear consensus for protecting babies in the womb at least by the point they can feel pain at 15 weeks, while allowing states to enact stronger protections. The pro-life movement and the American people deserve a President who will boldly advocate this consensus and will work to gather the votes necessary in Congress,” Dannenfelser said.

Her comments were responsive to an interview with Megyn Kelly last week, in which DeSantis suggested there was no path for a congressional version of Florida’s abortion law.

“We are running on doing things that I know I can accomplish,” DeSantis said, calling abortion prohibitions a “bottom-up movement and that’s where we’ve had most success — Iowa, South Carolina, Florida.”

For Dannenfelser, that’s not good enough.

“Gov. DeSantis’ dismissal of this task is unacceptable to pro-life voters. 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. This is where presidential leadership matters most,” she said, noting that half the states in the country don’t have the kinds of bans she seeks.

“While 25 states have enacted laws to protect unborn children in this new era, the remaining 25 states offer few to no protections. These states account for at least 600,000 or two-thirds of abortions annually. These unborn children and their mothers deserve to be served and need an advocate in the White House who will work tirelessly to protect them.”

SBA’s reaction to DeSantis’ position is notable as it’s an attack from the Right. But it also suggests the group hadn’t been listening to DeSantis, who, despite signing a ban on the procedure after the sixth week of pregnancy, has been consistent in claiming that Congress wouldn’t pass such a law nationally and that a federal role in determining when abortion is legal could have unintended consequences.

During a Fox News Channel interview on July 20, the Governor said that a national version of the Heartbeat Protection Act, which bans abortion under most circumstances after six weeks of gestation, might not fly in a “big, diverse country.”

“I think that in states where you’ve had the ability to make improvements and to add pro-life protections, I applaud states that have done that, but we have a big, diverse country. I acknowledge that and I’m not suggesting that somehow New York is necessarily going to follow Iowa’s lead on that. I think you’re going to see differences,” DeSantis said on “Fox & Friends.”

During a July 16 interview on the Fox News Channel’s “Mediabuzz,” the Governor blamed Congress preemptively for not being able to get the law passed.

“Look, the Congress is probably not the place you want to put your hopes and dreams if you’re supporting pro-life. And so I think we’re going to really have a strong bottom-up approach. We’re going to be working with states and localities to be able to advance the cause of life.”

The Governor dealt with a similar question from Fox News alum Tucker Carlson this month, dancing around the idea that a national ban is possible.

“I don’t think Rome is built in a day. I think it’s going to take time to make progress in some parts of the country. But as President, I will be somebody who will use the bully pulpit to support Governors like Kim Reynolds when she’s got a bill, other states, as they advance the cause of life,” DeSantis said.

During a May appearance on “Fox News Tonight,” DeSantis said that after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, “there’s a role for both the federal (government) and states” to play going forward, but that “fighting for life and protecting life really is a bottom-up movement.”

“I think that there’s just a practical reality that the country is divided on the issue. And so the question is, you know, how are you going to be able to save, you know, more lives? Some of this is a matter of strategy, some of it is a matter of, you know, what could you do to be able to advance the ball forward?” he added. “Clearly in California, you know, you are going to have very, very hostile views.”