In the News
Reminder: Florida Republicans’ Fight to Restrict Reproductive Freedom Is Massively Unpopular
As Florida Republicans eye a total ban on abortions, Republican elected officials across Florida should be forced to answer for their party’s ultra-Maga agenda of radically restricting reproductive freedom.
After Ron DeSantis signed a massively unpopular 15-week abortion ban this year, the strictest in state history, Republican lawmakers in Florida have been talking up the possibility of an even-more-radical complete abortion ban without any exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother.
Republican state Rep. Webster Barnaby confirmed that he intends to introduce a bill that would do exactly that, while incoming Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo signaled that she was on board with banning all abortions, saying, “There’s always a chance. Right now we have a Republican majority.”
However, Republican lawmakers are acting against the will of the people that they represent. The evidence is clear: the majority of Floridians believe that people should be allowed to make their own healthcare decisions, and the government should not encroach upon decisions that are between a woman and her doctor.
- Tampa Bay Times: “Most Florida voters want more abortion access, not less. Statewide polls regularly show most respondents don’t want policies that ban abortions….During the 2020 election cycle, an Ipsos/Reuters poll regularly asked likely voters in Florida whether they agreed with the more general statement ‘abortion should be legal in most cases.’ All five times, a majority ranging from 56 to 60 percent agreed, while 35 percent of respondents or fewer disagreed.”
- Bay News 9: “A University of North Florida survey conducted in February found that 57% of Floridians opposed the 15-week abortion ban, which is further than the Legislature has ever done in the state in attempting to limit abortions. The survey found that only 34% supported the measure.”
- FiveThirtyEight: “According to an ABC News/The Washington Post poll conducted in early November, 75 percent of Americans thought abortion should be left to a woman and her doctor, while only 20 percent thought it should be regulated by law.”
- Forbes: “A majority of Americans broadly believe abortion should be legal and more than 60% believe people should be able to obtain abortions during the first trimester of their pregnancy, a new Associated Press/NORC poll finds.”
- New York Times: “Most Americans disagree with the Supreme Court decision on Texas’ abortion ban, a poll finds.”
- CNN: “Just 30% of Americans say they’d like to see the Supreme Court completely overturn its Roe vs. Wade decision, with 69% opposed.”
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