DeSantis praises SC’s 6-week abortion ban, but would he back national ban? Here’s what he said

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seeking the GOP nomination for president, said he supported state efforts to restrict abortion but sidestepped whether he supported a national abortion ban when asked at a campaign stop in North Augusta.

“I think that the progress right now is being made, really, from the bottom up,” DeSantis said to the crowd of 400 to 500 people in a gym at Riverview Park. “These places like South Carolina, Georgia, these places have done well, and some of these other states, you know, may not necessarily follow suit. But this will be something that we are going to be able to debate.”

His response to the question came two days ahead of the one-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade being overturned in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, allowing states to decide whether abortion is legal within their borders.

“In Florida, we have promoted a culture of life,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis referenced Florida’s six-week abortion ban, known as the Heartbeat Protection Act, that he signed into law April 13, and he applauded South Carolina for “similar efforts.” He did not say whether he supported a six-week or complete national abortion ban. He also criticized President Joe Biden and pro-abortion access legislation.

“In terms of federal, I am very concerned with what Biden wants to do,” DeSantis said. “He wants federal legislation to override every single pro-life law in the country and force abortion all the way up until the moment of birth in this country. That is inhumane, that is obscene and that will not happen when I am president.”

Biden supports restoring the protections of Roe as a federal law, but has not said he supports abortion till the moment of birth. The Washington Post reported that Republicans use this because of Democratic candidates supporting the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion as defined by Roe v. Wade. However, the bill makes exceptions if the health of the mother is in jeopardy, which Republicans say is a loophole that creates no limit on abortion.

South Carolina earlier this year passed a new ban on abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which is around the six-week mark of a pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant.

However, the law is not being enforced because the state Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision in January struck down a similar ban due to violations of the state constitution’s right to privacy.

The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the new law on Tuesday.

Alyssa Bradley, spokeswoman for the S.C. Democratic Party said that abortion access in South Carolina is “under immediate threat” and called Florida’s abortion law extreme.

“DeSantis and the rest of the MAGA Republican Party are running on banning abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant, criminalizing health care providers, and forcing victims of rape and incest to either share their trauma or give birth,” Bradley said.