DeSantis Seeks To Silence Cancer Patient Speaking Out About Abortion

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is putting the full weight of the Florida government behind an effort to defeat a ballot measure that would protect abortion access in the state — including by enlisting government lawyers in a campaign to silence a young mother with terminal brain cancer who is warning of the danger Florida’s strict ban poses to women like her.

This November, Florida residents will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 4; if passed, the measure will enshrine the right to abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health” in Florida’s constitution. The pitch is broadly popular with Floridians: A September poll showed the measure attracting support from 76 percent of voters.

But DeSantis, who has signed two separate abortion bans into law — restricting the procedure first at 15 weeks, then 6 weeks gestation — is desperately trying to tank Amendment 4. First, he worked with the Heritage Foundation to add language to the ballot measure implying that relegalizing abortion would have a negative fiscal impact on the state.

Amid that baseless warning, state agencies began spending public money on TV and radio ads peddling misinformation about the measure, as well as a website that claims Amendment 4 “threatens women’s safety.”

Now, DeSantis is trying to keep a cancer patient named Caroline from sharing the story of her abortion, by threatening to criminally prosecute TV stations that carry the Amendment 4 ad featuring her story.