DeSantis slams President Biden’s support of abortion rights ahead of Tampa campaign stop

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s campaign stop in Tampa on Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis depicted a November constitutional amendment on abortion rights in Florida as deceitful.

“Now, [Biden is] coming down to try to support a constitutional amendment that will mandate abortion up until the moment of birth, that will eliminate parental consent for minors and that’s written in a way that’s intentionally designed to deceive voters,” DeSantis said. “So, all I can tell you is Floridians are not buying what Joe Biden is selling, and, in November, we’re going to play an instrumental role in sending him back to Delaware where he belongs.”

The pro-abortion ballot initiative, which will be Amendment 4 on the ballot in November, prohibits laws from restricting abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health,” but it makes an exception for parental notification before a minor gets the procedure.

Meanwhile, abortion providers and pro-abortion advocates are bracing for the six-week abortion ban across Florida set to go into effect on May 1.

DeSantis made his comments in Naples on Tuesday, during two bill-signings on environmental measures including red tide and algae blooms.

The president’s visit to Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry is expected to focus on reproductive rights. The governor didn’t take any questions during the ceremony in Naples.