Where’s the GOP? Florida’s abortion fight needs Republican unity

For years, abortion was the issue that unified Republicans. Even when they disagreed on almost everything else, they rallied together during critical pro-life moments. But that was before the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision when Republicans had little influence over the outcome. Now that states can actually shape abortion policy, most Republicans are silent, even as the left pushes to codify abortion up to birth in the reddest states. Where is everyone?

Conservatives have lost momentum on the life issue since Dobbs. We can discuss why this happened and who’s to blame for the setbacks in swing states or the lack of support for full abolition in red states. But let’s be clear: The left can’t naturally gain supermajority support for late-term abortion in deep-red states without Republicans deliberately backing down. Yet, that’s exactly what will happen in states like Florida and Missouri unless we demand Republicans unite to defeat these Soros-backed ballot initiatives.

Most swing voters oppose late-term abortions, and Amendment 4 can’t pass without significant support from Republican voters.

Florida Amendment 4 is a ballot initiative to change the Florida constitution in a way that will enshrine abortion all the way through birth as a fundamental right. Here is what the amendment says:

No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.

The misleading language of this amendment highlights why America’s founders distrusted direct democracy and why initiative petitions only emerged during the Progressive Era. Cultural Marxist mega donors poll-test specific language and place it on the ballot as a law change, even when it’s just a talking point. For instance, the term “viability” might suggest to many that it refers to early pregnancy when the fetus can survive. It’s well-known that most people support early abortions and exceptions while opposing late-term abortions. However, this is a late-term abortion amendment disguised by language that downplays its true intent.

“Viability” refers to when a baby can likely survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks. For context, 47 out of 50 European countries ban abortion after 15 weeks. The most concerning part of the amendment is the second clause: “... or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” This clause permits abortions even past viability — and possibly even up to partial birth — as long as a healthcare provider deems it necessary. In practice, any Planned Parenthood doctor performing an abortion can claim it would be necessary, making the clause a loophole for late-term abortions.

Moreover, the amendment lacks the legal definitions typically included in such measures. Terms like “viability,” “healthcare provider,” and “protect the patient’s health” are not defined. Without clear definitions, Florida’s constitution would prevent the legislature from regulating any aspect of abortion, including timing, methods, doctor qualifications, or clinic standards. This would eliminate all regulations that were designed to ensure the safety of clinics, such as those enacted after the Kermit Gosnell case. Additionally, enshrining abortion as a constitutional right would likely require taxpayer funding through Medicaid and all state health care programs.

The amendment states that parents only need to be notified, not give consent, for a minor’s abortion, which would overturn Florida’s current parental rights law.

Anyone reading the amendment’s language might assume it enshrines the right to an abortion only when a legitimate doctor determines the mother’s life is in danger — a scenario supported by a supermajority of Americans. Without a united Republican front, however, these amendments, which are more radical than any abortion policy in Europe, could pass in nearly all 50 states if we don’t act to stop them.

You would expect Florida’s senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, to be vocal about the deceptive language on the ballot. You’d think Trump, as the GOP’s standard bearer and a Floridian himself, would fiercely criticize this language and use it to showcase how radical the Democrats have become on this issue. Yet, almost no Florida Republican is willing to join Gov. Ron DeSantis in opposing Amendment 4. Strangely, Trump won’t even commit to opposing it personally, and Rubio, who was once nearly absolute on the pro-life question, has remained silent.

Pro-life activists have been reporting that their calls to the offices of GOP senators and congressmen have been spurned by staffers admonishing them that federal officials don’t get involved in state issues.

As if abortion through birth in Florida is somehow akin to some parochial debate in a rural Florida county over zoning or garbage collection!

What’s so difficult about simply saying, “We will not allow unrestricted abortion, which is more radical than the laws in the most liberal European countries, to be legalized in Florida”? Instead, prominent Republicans are behaving as if Amendment 4 is an extreme pro-life measure that bans abortion from conception, even when the mother’s life is at risk.

The opposite is true, which is why Trump, who has already moderated his stance, would be the perfect spokesperson to oppose “extremism on both sides.” Amendment 4 represents the far end of the spectrum — a measure that, until recently, would only pass in a state like California.

It’s appalling and indefensible for these Republicans to shirk their responsibility to fight this extreme abortion amendment. This is not just a battle we can’t afford to lose — it’s one we won’t lose if Republicans unite.

Most swing voters oppose late-term abortions, and this amendment can’t pass without significant support from Republican voters. With the new law requiring 60% to pass a constitutional amendment in Florida and a one-million-voter registration edge, Republicans could lose some moderate voters and still secure the 41% needed to defeat it. In fact, two recent polls show the amendment only reaching 56% and 58% support, respectively.

If these Republicans, especially Trump, would step up and unify their voters, they could defeat this amendment without needing a single crossover vote. If Trump came out strongly, expressing his support for exceptions but firmly condemning late-term abortion and unregulated, unsafe procedures without parental consent, the amendment wouldn’t even reach 50% support, let alone the 60% needed to pass.The abortion issue, in many ways, reflects a broader pattern within the Republican Party. There’s an inverse relationship between the importance of an issue’s outcome and how hard Republicans will fight for it. They often focus on important issues — just not when it really counts.