Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America, a major pro-life advocacy group, blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for statements he made in an interview with Megyn Kelly on Friday.
Ron DeSantis signed a bill in April banning abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, but allowing abortion up to 15 weeks in cases where the mother conceived from rape, incest, or human trafficking. (RELATED: Nearly One Year After Dobbs, Half The Country Now Bans Abortions By 12 Weeks)
Kelly asked DeSantis if he would also sign a federal version of the bill, but the presidential candidate hedged on whether he would support such a law, calling the fight for life a “bottom-up movement.”
“I’ve been a pro-life governor,” DeSantis said. “I’ll be a pro-life president and I’ll come down on the side of life.”
Ron DeSantis just got slammed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America for saying abortion law is best as a state issue. In response, his spox is calling the organization a “DC interest group” https://t.co/nIiM4sl51t
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) July 31, 2023
“Gov. DeSantis’s dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight. This is where presidential leadership matters most,” SBA Pro-Life said in a statement.
“While 25 states have enacted laws to protect unborn children in this new era, the remaining 25 states offer few to no protections. These states account for at least 600,000 or two-thirds of abortions annually. These unborn children and their mothers deserve to be served and need an advocate in the White House who will work tirelessly to protect them.”
Former President Donald Trump has criticized DeSantis for signing the six week abortion ban, calling it “too harsh.” DeSantis doubled down in his response to Trump’s statements, saying that he “was proud to do it.”
In a statement to Politico, DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said that DeSantis “does not kowtow to DC interest groups.”
“This unjustified attack on him is another example of the DC political games that have seen conservatives falter in Washington while Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida.”
Pro-Life has previously criticized Trump for statements his spokesperson Steven Cheung made iterating the former president’s support for leaving the issue of abortion up to the states. The group promised to “oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions while allowing states to enact further protections.”
Pro-Life president Marjorie Dannenfelser later met with Trump to discuss the issue, releasing a statement following the meeting saying that Trump “reiterated his opposition to the extreme Democratic position of abortion on demand.”