On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Tonight,” 2024 presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) stated that while the federal government does have some role in abortion law, “fighting for life and protecting life really is a bottom-up movement.” He also said it “would be an abuse of power” if a Congress and presidency controlled by Democrats nationalized abortion up until birth and it’s better for saving lives to have federalism on the issue than if the issue is legislated entirely by the federal government.
DeSantis said, “I think that there’s a role for both the federal and the states. I think, at the end of the day, fighting for life and protecting life really is a bottom-up movement. I think we’ve been able to have great successes at the local level. I am concerned about a Democratic administration with a trifecta trying to nationalize abortion all the way up until birth. That would be a violation of what states like Florida have done to protect life. It would be a violation of what states like Iowa have done to protect life. And I think that that would be an abuse of power for them to try to override every single pro-life protection in this country and allow abortion all the way up to the moment of birth, which 90% of Americans find to be truly horrific.”
Host Trey Gowdy then asked, “Well, let’s pick California and Idaho, is that just the price we pay for federalism that life begins at conception in Idaho, but it begins much, much, much later in California, is that the price that we pay for federalism?”
DeSantis answered, “I don’t think it’s the price you pay for federalism. I think that there’s just a practical reality that the country’s divided on the issue. And so, the question is, how are you going to be able to save more lives? And I think, obviously, Idaho’s going to be able to do a lot on their own. They would not be able to do as much if they ran it all through Washington, D.C. So, some of this is a matter of strategy, some of it is a matter of what could you do to be able to advance the ball forward. Clearly, in California, you are going to have very, very hostile views. They want to have abortion all the way up until birth.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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