A pro-life community on edge breathed a sigh of relief last week when former president Donald Trump affirmed that he will not support a Florida ballot initiative in November that would drastically expand abortion access in the state, despite his opposition to the state's six-week ban on abortion.
Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins tells NR that Trump's announcement is evidence that pro-life pressure does work — while other Florida pro-lifers said they never had any doubt that the former president would come out against the radical amendment in his home state.
Still, tensions remain between the pro-life movement and a Republican presidential nominee who has repeatedly spoken out against Florida's heartbeat law in recent months, saying the six-week ban is too strict.
So Trump's announcement came as especially welcome news to pro-life advocates on the ground in the Sunshine State who are leading the charge to defeat this constitutional amendment, which voters will consider this fall after the state's highest court handed down a pair of rulings in April to uphold Florida's 15-week abortion ban and allow a six-week ban to go into effect within 30 days.
The amendment, which must reach a 60 percent threshold to pass, would allow unrestricted abortion access in the state up until fetal viability "when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider," and would eliminate parental-consent laws for minors seeking abortions.
"I was thrilled to see" Trump come out against Amendment 4, says John Stemberger, a senior counsel to Liberty Counsel who is in charge of the ground game for Vote No on 4, a group that is leading opposition to the ballot initiative this fall. "It's going to be a great help to us in Florida and beyond . . .
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