This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president in 2024, pushed back in an interview about claims that Florida will punish women who have an abortion.
DeSantis made the remarks in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell.
“We have no criminal penalties– the criminal penalties are for the physician,” DeSantis said in the interview.
O’Donnell claimed that the bill “includes jail time and fines for ‘any person who willfully performs or actively participates in a termination of pregnancy.’”
“And that's for the providers. Is it not for the women,” DeSantis said, adding that “she’s not a medical practitioner.”
“So, you are not for criminalizing women [who have abortions]?” O’Donnell pressed.
“No, no. Absolutely not. And that will not happen in Florida,” DeSantis stated.
WATCH: DeSantis pushes back on "narrative" against Florida's abortion restrictions in interview with CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 14, 2023
“Governor, I read the bill."
"[Those punishments are] for the providers, that’s not for the women.” pic.twitter.com/J9Yb2OVBro
In the interview, O’Donnell claimed that abortions in Florida have increased in the past year.
“The issue with Florida is that the southeastern states have very, very strong pro-life laws. Florida is litigating under a 15-week, and so we have become, against our wishes, a destination,” DeSantis explained.
“Now, we’ve also done the Heartbeat Protection Act, which would go into effect once the courts clear this,” he continued, explaining that it would “stop the whole abortion tourism thing.”
“We don’t want to be an abortion tourism destination,” he said.
In April, Townhall reported how DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law. Six weeks is the time frame where the fetal heartbeat begins. According to the Associated Press, the six-week ban only takes effect if the 15-week ban is upheld by a court in an ongoing legal battle.
“I support pro-life policies,” DeSantis concluded in the interview. “I’ll be a pro-life president. But at the same time, I’ve got to chart the course and be honest with people about, Okay, how do you advance the ball like we did in Florida? And the way you do that is really bottom up.”
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