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Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, gestures as he leaves, after casting his ballot for early voting in Florida's primary election, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Aug. 14, 2024. (OSV News photo/Marco Bello, Reuters)

Trump says he’ll vote ‘no’ on Florida’s abortion ballot measure after calling 6-week ban ‘too short’


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OSV News Filed Under: 2024 Election, News, Respect Life, World News

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, indicated Aug. 30 he would vote against a ballot measure to expand abortion access in Florida’s upcoming ballot referendum. His comments came the day after he faced criticism from some pro-life activists after he made comments during an interview that aired Aug. 29 appearing to suggest that he planned to vote to expand abortion access in Florida’s upcoming ballot referendum.

Repeating his earlier comment that he thinks there should be “more time” than six weeks to decide whether to have an abortion, Trump said the “Democrats are radical” on abortion and he would vote against the amendment.

“So I think six weeks, you need more time than six weeks,” Trump told Fox News in reference to his previous criticism. “I’ve disagreed with that right from the early primaries when I heard about it, I disagreed with it.”

But Trump added, “At the same time, the Democrats are radical, because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation where you can do an abortion in the ninth month. … So I’ll be voting ‘no’ for that reason.”

In April, the Florida Supreme Court simultaneously upheld that the state’s Constitution does not protect abortion access and allowed a proposed amendment seeking to do so to qualify for the state’s November ballot.

Trump, who is registered to vote in Florida, has faced questions about how he personally intends to vote in that referendum. At a press conference earlier in August, Trump said he intended to reveal his position “sometime in the near future.”

The ruling from its highest court in effect allowed Florida to enforce a six-week limit on abortion, which went into effect in May. But Sunshine State voters in November will consider a constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion bans in the state prior to viability.

If approved, its enactment would undo those restrictions, making abortion legal in nearly all cases, as most abortions in the U.S. occur prior to viability.

Previously, when asked by NBC News how he planned to vote on that measure, Trump appeared critical of the six-week ban, saying, “I’m going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.”

“I think the six week is too short, it has to be more time,” Trump said, referring to Florida’s current law. He added, “I told them I want more weeks.”

According to national health statistics on abortion compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 39.5% of abortions take place within the first six weeks of pregnancy, indicating six-week bans like Florida’s potentially protect as many as six in 10 unborn children from abortion.

More than nine in 10 abortions take place within the first trimester (up to 13 weeks) of pregnancy, according to the CDC.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has made expanding access to abortion a key part of her candidacy, Trump has stated he would veto a national abortion ban if Congress sent such a bill to his desk.

In July, at the direction of Trump, delegates at the Republican National Convention approved a new party platform that removed a long-standing call for federal abortion restrictions at 20 weeks while leaving the decision on how to regulate abortion to the states.

CDC data shows just 1% of abortions in the U.S. take place beyond 20 weeks, indicating abortion bans beyond five months of pregnancy protect even fewer unborn children from abortion. Viability, the point at which an unborn child could theoretically survive outside the mother’s womb, is generally held by the medical community to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy although some premature babies have survived before that point.

Before Trump said he would vote against the measure, pro-life activists, including some who have been supportive of Trump’s candidacy, were critical of his comments on social media.

“If Donald Trump loses, today is the day he lost,” Erick Erickson, a conservative talk radio host, wrote in a post on X. “The committed pro-life community could turn a blind eye, in part, to national abortion issues. But for Trump to weigh in on Florida as he did will be a bridge too far for too many.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement, “I spoke with President Trump this evening. He has not committed to how he will vote on Amendment 4.”

“President Trump has consistently opposed abortions after five months of pregnancy,” Dannenfelser claimed. “Amendment 4 would allow abortion past this point. Voting for Amendment 4 completely undermines his position.”

Dannenfelser, a Catholic, affirmed her organization does “strongly support Florida’s current heartbeat law.”

She said, “For anyone who believes in drawing a different line, they still must vote against Amendment 4, unless they don’t want a line at all. Amendment 4 would lock unlimited abortion into the state constitution, preventing the Florida legislature from enacting any changes.”

Others were more blunt. Patrick Brown, a Catholic and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Life and Family Initiative, wrote on X, “Backstabbing the pro-life movement on the (Florida) abortion amendment and introducing free IVF for all, I hope all the people who told me he was the most pro-life President of our lifetime sleep well tonight!” Brown followed up his post stating that instead of having a pro-life candidate like Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Republican who enacted the six-week ban, “we have the guy promising he’ll be great for reproductive rights and will be sponsoring state-funded eugenics.”

Lila Rose, a Catholic who is the founder and president of the pro-life human rights group Live Action, also wrote on X, that pro-life advocates are now faced with “two pro-abortion tickets.”

“Expressions of disappointment are not enough. Disappointment is not being counted at the ballot box. The currency and the language in this season is votes,” she said.

Rose held out the possibility that Trump could change course and she would prefer Trump to win “as a pro-life candidate.”

“But let’s be clear: Trump winning as a pro-abortion candidate is a loss for the pro-life movement,” she argued.

After Trump walked back his comments, Rose wrote on X, “Please help the great people of Florida defeat this horrific amendment!”

Dannenefelser issued a new statement in response, thanking Trump for criticizing the measure.

“We must all fight diligently from now until election day,” she said. “The only way Amendment 4 passes is if voters are unaware of its impacts. We thank President Trump for shedding light on how extreme this measure is and call on all Republican leaders in Florida to follow the president’s example.”

Meanwhile, supporters of the abortion amendment, the “Yes on 4” campaign, said it is “a nonpartisan issue.”

“Republican, Democrat or independent, the overwhelming majority of Floridians do not want the government making decisions for them when it comes to something as personal and complicated as pregnancy,” Natasha Sutherland, the campaign’s communication director, said in a statement.

Amid the controversy, Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said in a statement, that Trump “has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida, he simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short.”

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged voters to reject Amendment 4 at the ballot box on Election Day Nov. 5.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion. After the Dobbs decision, church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the church’s concern for both mother and child and called to strengthen available support for those living in poverty or other causes that can push women toward having an abortion.

This story was updated Aug. 31.

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