(LifeSiteNews) – Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to former President Donald Trump’s suggestion that banning abortion at six weeks may be “too harsh,” reaffirming his support for the pro-life law he signed in April and noting that his presumptive rival for the Republican presidential nomination neglected to answer whether he would have signed the same law.
On Monday, Trump said in an interview that “if you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don’t even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.” Asked if he would sign a similar law, Trump said simply that he was “looking at many alternatives.”
Donald Trump has suggested a 6-week abortion ban is ”too harsh”, attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis for his bill protecting innocent human life.
It’s time for former President Trump to realize that pro-life voters won’t support a candidate who abandons vulnerable unborn babies.
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The former president said he is ”looking at all alternatives” when asked if he would support such a ban, making this a crucial opportunity for pro-life voters to make their views known to him in no uncertain terms.
“He has to do what he has to do,” Trump said about Gov. DeSantis’ abortion bill. “If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don’t even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.”
Mr. Trump’s claim about anyone in the pro-life movement opposing the ban is doubtful to say the least, but there was more to follow in the interview.
When pressed on whether he thought the bill was ”too harsh”, Trump would not answer directly, instead saying: ”I’m looking at all alternatives. I’m looking at many alternatives. But I was able to get us to the table by terminating Roe v. Wade. That’s the most important thing that’s ever happened for the pro-life movement.”
The former president is correct in saying the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a monumental step for the pro-life movement, but it should only be the beginning of banning the killing of babies in the womb entirely.
Donald Trump’s reluctance to get behind a 6-week abortion ban spells trouble for every citizen concerned about ending abortion, which is why we need you to take part in this urgent petition to him.
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Our true loyalty is to innocent human beings facing death, none more so than those in the womb, and any candidate who prevaricates about something so important to building a civilized society has to be corrected.
We urge all Republican candidates to advocate for an eventual total ban on abortion, without any exceptions – not just at 6-week’s gestation as an incremental measure.
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Trump distances himself from 6-week abortion ban by DeSantis: ‘Too harsh’ – LifeSiteNews
The comments came amid several weeks of consternation between pro-lifers and Trump, who has raised doubts as to whether he would support a federal abortion ban now that the overturn of Roe v. Wade has enabled states to legislate on the issue, and repeatedly stressed that any law he might sign must include exceptions for rape, incest, and to save a mother’s life.
Asked about the exchange at an event the next day, DeSantis responded, “Protecting an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat is something that almost, probably 99% of pro-lifers support. It’s something that other states like Iowa under Gov. Kim Reynolds have enacted, and I think that as a Florida resident, he didn’t give an answer about ‘would you have signed the heartbeat bill that Florida did.’ It had all the exceptions that people talked about, the legislature put it in. I signed the bill. I was happy to do it. He won’t answer whether he would sign it or not.”
BREAKING— @GovRonDeSantis calls out President Trump for not saying he supports Florida’s 6-week abortion law #flpol pic.twitter.com/5SJ1kmZcUe
— Javier Manjarres (@JavManjarres) May 16, 2023
The answer is the closest DeSantis, who has not yet announced his candidacy but is expected to within the next few weeks, has come to explicitly criticizing Trump, who since last November has been attacking the governor on an almost daily basis. It may suggest that DeSantis will soon begin campaigning, complete with a new approach to the former president.
On Wednesday morning, Trump posted to his Truth Social platform a declaration that he feels the pro-life movement owes him for its current prospects, once more without clarifying his position on federal abortion legislation.
“After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone, and for the first time put the Pro Life movement in a strong negotiating position over the Radicals that are willing to kill babies even into their 9th month, and beyond,” he wrote. “Without me there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you President TRUMP!!!”
Trump currently holds a substantial lead in national polls for the Republican nomination, which his surrogates say should be taken to declare the primary over. But DeSantis is competitive in state primary polls, and it remains to be seen what will happen once competition for Republican votes begins in earnest.