Gov. DeSantis: Florida will continue to defend pro-life reforms after SCOTUS ruling

After the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned two landmark abortion cases of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, returning the legality of abortion to the states, Florida will continue to defend pro-life reforms, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

“By properly interpreting the Constitution, the Supreme Court has answered the prayers of millions upon millions of Americans,” DeSantis said in a statement.

“For nearly fifty years, the U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited virtually any meaningful pro-life protection, but this was not grounded in the text, history or structure of the Constitution. By properly interpreting the Constitution, the Dobbs majority has restored the people’s role in our republic and a sense of hope that every life counts.”

Desantis added that Florida will "defend its recently-enacted pro-life reforms against state court challenges, will work to expand pro-life protections, and will stand for life by promoting adoption, foster care and child welfare.”

The governor's presumed Democratic opponent in November, Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida who’s expected to win the Democratic primary, said the ruling was “a horrible day for women, for reproductive rights and for freedom for women.”

Crist used the ruling as a campaign opportunity, arguing in a video posted on social media: “Ron DeSantis is not on the side of women. He’s not for reproductive rights. He will do everything, including potentially ban abortion across the board.

“We can’t let that happen. The stakes in this race could never be higher for governor of Florida. The veto pen of the governor is the only line of defense that you’ll have between the Florida legislature and your reproductive rights as a woman.”

DeSantis is currently leading Crist in polling by a combined average of 8.8%, according to Real Clear Politics.

State Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, who sponsored the most recent bill Gov. DeSantis signed into law restricting abortion to 15 weeks, said, “protecting the innocent children whose lives are ended through abortion was a defining issue” that caused her to run for office.

“The so-called ‘right’ to murder an unborn child was entirely invented by the Roe decision and affirmed in the Casey decision, both of which were wrong from the start,” she added.

Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, who was adopted as a child, said the court righted “a grievous wrong.”

“It’s hard to believe we live in a country that has permitted the murder of 63 million innocent children over the last 50 years,” he said. “Every abortion kills a human being made in the image and likeness of God who deserves the chance to grow up in a loving family."

In addition to signing the Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act, DeSantis also signed another bill into law supporting fatherhood, which allocates $70 million in funding for a wide range of family and youth programs. He also signed a bill into law expanding provisions for foster families, including a record additional $44 million in funding.