The multi-million-dollar initiative would roll back one of DeSantis’ signature policies by allowing abortion until a fetus is viable at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.The multi-million-dollar initiative would roll back one of DeSantis’ signature policies by allowing abortion until a fetus is viable at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood is launching an effort to put abortion on the Florida ballot next year — setting the stage for a high-profile battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as he prepares to run for president.
The move comes three weeks after DeSantis pleased up-for-grabs evangelical Republicans by signing a six-week abortion ban into law.
The multi-million-dollar initiative, the details of which were confirmed to POLITICO ahead of an announcement next week, would roll back one of DeSantis’ signature policies by allowing abortion until a fetus is viable at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“Floridians know what is best for their own bodies and their own lives,” Sarah Standiford, national campaigns director for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in an interview Thursday. “People are ready to vote for reproductive freedom and to take back power from lawmakers who have literally gone against the will of the people.”
Standiford confirmed Planned Parenthood and partner organizations intend to spend millions of dollars as they seek to gather roughly 890,000 valid signatures by Feb. 1 across a state that has become increasingly conservative. By comparison, a 2024 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana has already raised $30 million.
The abortion-rights effort promises to keep the contentious issue top of mind during the presidential election, while likely energizing the state’s Democratic base. It also stands to have significant implications for the future of reproductive health care in the Sunshine State, which became a haven in the South for abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
The measure proposes letting the patient’s health care provider determine fetal viability, according to ballot language shared with POLITICO.
