'The right vote': Three Palm Beach County Republicans vote against six-week abortion ban

One of seven Republican Florida state lawmakers — including three from Palm Beach County districts — who voted against a controversial six-week abortion ban said this week her vote speaks for itself.

"It's just not the right vote, and I think everyone does their best and tries their hardest, and that was my decision on behalf of the district," said state Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who represents a mostly south county House District 91.

The measure was approved in the Florida House by an ample margin, 70 to 40, on April 13. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the abortion ban into law that night, and issued a tweet on the rare late-night signing an hour before midnight that evening.

The new law is prevented from going into effect, however, until a challenge to the state's 15-week ban on abortions passed last year winds its way through the courts.

Still, Florida's abortion restrictions rank among the strictest in the country. Coupled with similar measures in other Republican-dominated states, it has set off an internal debate within Republican Party circles on an issue that is particularly fraught for the GOP.

The party's hardcore, anti-abortion base is ever-demanding of new restrictions. But those same measures are proving unpopular with independent and other swing state voters the party will need in 2024 to win the White House, the U.S. Senate and expand its razor-thin House majority — let alone state and local government posts.

This past weekend, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina warned her fellow GOP elected officials they risk alienating voters by taking extreme positions on issues like abortion. "Some of the stances we've taken, especially when it comes to rape and incest, protecting the life of a mother, it's so extreme, the middle … cannot support us," Mace said in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Republican donor Thomas Peterffy told the Financial Times his support for DeSantis' expected presidential run is "on hold" due to in part to the governor's position on abortions.

Another warning light went off when a liberal judge won by a stunning landslide in a race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court earlier this month in an election dominated by abortion politics. That caught the attention of Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel who said on Fox News: “When you’re losing by 10 points there is a messaging issue and abortion is still an issue and we can’t allow Democrats to define Republicans."

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Palm Beach County Republican said her constituents focused on issues other than abortion

Locally, Gossett-Seidman did not want to elaborate on her decision to cast a "no" vote. Her campaign platform did not include abortion, and she said her focus is on the issues she heard from voters when knocking on doors for her campaign: clean water, taxes and insurance.

Two other Palm Beach County Republicans who also voted against the six-week ban, state Reps. Mike Caruso of Delray Beach and Rick Roth of West Palm Beach, did not respond to requests for comment.

Caruso and Roth did vote to approve the initial 15-week abortion restriction, which didn't allow for exceptions for victims of rape, incest or human trafficking, in last year's legislative session. This year's abortion measure bans abortions after six weeks but includes exceptions for abuse victims for up to 15 weeks.

University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said Palm Beach County's GOP state lawmakers are in a political bind of sorts on the abortion issue.

The abortion restriction would be embraced by their party's voters but would be far less popular with the general population in still-voter registration blue Palm Beach County. Jewett said his studies on Florida politics and polling also support that most Florida voters typically believe in a woman's right to choose.

"I presume they are more concerned with the Republican base on the one hand, but also their constituents on the other," said Jewett. "There's a part that says maybe some of it is not political, but some of it is maybe what they actually believe about the abortion issue, that maybe they just voted their conscience."

DeSantis signs abortion ban into law in late-night ceremony

The governor quietly signed the bill into law in a private late-night ceremony that critics said was meant to draw as little attention to the controversial new law as possible.

Jewett said that the governor may have signed it in a private ceremony because the bill may not be so popular, but he would want the credit for the Republican base since it's important to the party platform. Still, the governor issued a statement heralding the new law.

“We are proud to support life and family in the state of Florida,” the governor said in a statement. “I applaud the Legislature for passing the Heartbeat Protection Act that expands pro-life protections and provides additional resources for young mothers and families.”

This more restrictive abortion measure brings Florida in line with other southern states that have six-week bans, including Georgia and South Carolina. Before the law was signed by the governor, Florida's erstwhile, more lenient 15-week ban created a haven for women in the South seeking abortions as the Sunshine State was in close proximity.

Andrew Shirvell is the founder of Florida Voice for the Unborn, a lobbying group that advocates for a total abortion ban, and he called the Republicans who voted against the bill “traitors to the unborn.”

“Pro-life voters will remember their lack of courage, and will hopefully throw them out of office at the earliest opportunity,” Shirvell said.

Stephany Matat is a politics reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY-Florida network. Reach her at smatat@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Three Palm Beach County Republicans vote against six-week abortion ban