Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday that he will vote “no” on a broad pro-abortion amendment that will appear on the Florida ballot in November.
Earlier in the week, an NBC reporter asked Trump, who lives in Florida, how I planned to vote on the amendment, which would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. Currently, the state prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
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Trump responded that he believed the six-week law is “too short,” telling the reporter, “I’m going to vote that we need more than six weeks.”
After facing significant backlash from the pro-life community for appearing to signal his support for the abortion amendment, Trump he told Fox News on Friday who would vote against the measure.
He called the amendment “unacceptable” and accused Democrats of advocating abortion during the nine months of pregnancy.
“Democrats are radical because nine months is just a ridiculous situation, where you can get an abortion in the ninth month,” Trump said.
“And you know some of the states, like Minnesota and other states, have places where you can actually execute the baby after birth and all of those things are unacceptable.”
“So, I will vote no for that reason,” the former president said.
The measure, titled Amendment to limit government interference in abortion or simply Amendment 4, would override Florida’s six- and 15-week pro-life protections for the unborn, allowing unrestricted abortion before the point of fetal viability outside the womb.
The amendment would also allow abortion during all nine months of pregnancy if a health care provider determines it is necessary for the mother’s health.
The pro-life movement in Florida has made significant efforts to defeat the amendment. The Archbishop of Miami, Bishop Thomas Wenski, he told CNA last week —EWTN News English Agency—that Florida bishops would collectively invest more than $1 million to raise awareness about the dangers of the amendment and urge voters to reject it at the polls.
A recent survey of Mainstreet Research y Florida Atlantic University found that 56% of Florida voters support the amendment, just shy of the 60% needed to pass it.
Some pro-life commentators celebrated Trump’s statement on Friday.
“To everyone who said pro-lifers should shut up about it, learn your lesson: THIS is why we make a fuss about the things that matter!” said conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey.
Lila Rose, Catholic and president of the pro-life group Live Action, and who in recent weeks has been critical of some of Trump’s statements on abortion, responded to the news by saying: “Thank you Donald Trump!”
“Please help the great people of Florida defeat this horrible amendment!” Rose wrote in X.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Peter Pinedo
Peter Pinedo is a Washington DC correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve.