DeSantis urges Floridians to vote no – NBC 6 South Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Clearwater on Tuesday where he continued to urge Floridians to vote against amendments to the ballot, particularly Amendments 3 and 4.

He urged voters who do not fully understand the amendments to vote “no.”

The governor was accompanied by several doctors who stood behind him during his address.

Also in attendance were Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy.

DeSantis claimed that Amendment 4 was written with the intent to deceive the public and argued that Florida's current abortion laws would not affect miscarriage care.

However, the text was approved by the Florida Supreme Court.

“It revokes the right to parental consent,” the governor said.

But supporters of Amendment 4 have said that's not true. They argue that the amendment on the ballot says it does not change the legislature's constitutional authority to require the consent of a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion. (A 2020 state law requires written parental consent before a minor has an abortion.)

The state's Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Children and Families, Department of Health and Education have reportedly spent millions to influence voters.

Integrity Florida, a nonpartisan research institute and government watchdog, argues that this shouldn't happen. The group said it was fundamentally wrong to use public money for election campaigns.

“The problem I have with this is that they are using my tax dollars and your tax dollars on this amendment so that voters have the final say. “This is voters’ chance to tell the government what they think about a public policy issue. It shouldn’t be the government’s job to tell voters what to think,” said Ben Wilcox of Integrity Florida.

NBC6 asked Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez on Tuesday about the use of public money for television advertising.

“Critics say it's inappropriate, it's unusual to do something like that. I would say it’s the state’s responsibility to educate people about what they’re voting for,” Nunez said. “It is entirely appropriate, the state has always conducted PSAs and has always educated its voters.”

Some doctors also took a moment at DeSantis' press conference on Tuesday to express their disapproval of Amendment 4.

“Trying to change the law through an irreversible, extreme constitutional amendment is like using a chainsaw to remove an appendix,” Dr. Kathy Aultman.

Tony Dungy also said he was concerned about the amendment's vague wording, which he said was similar to the amendment passed in his home state of Michigan, and urged voters to do further research.

These comments come just days after a reproductive rights rally in Fort Lauderdale where a Broward mother shared that she almost died after her water broke at 16 weeks of pregnancy but was denied medical care after a miscarriage became.

“The doctor told me I was going to lose our baby, but due to Florida's extreme abortion laws they couldn't give me the care I needed and I had to go home – I was told to wait until my condition improved worsened,” she explained. “It was the worst experience of my life.”

Opponents of Amendment 4 also argue that it will allow later abortions because it does not define feasibility; However, viability is already defined in Florida law as the stage of fetal development at which the life of a fetus outside the uterus can be maintained through standard medical measures.