We’ve long established on this site that Ron DeSantis loves big government statism, particularly when power is consolidated in his own hands.

Governor DeSantis loves to use “freedom” as some sort of cheap tag line to project when he bans books or prohibits businesses from regulating their workplaces for health and safety as they see fit. On the issue of reproductive freedom, DeSantis has been particularly bad through the years, both as a member of Congress and now as Governor.

2013-15

• As a member of the U.S House of Representatives, Ron DeSantis voted to defund Planned Parenthood three times and voted against an exception to a 20-week abortion ban when the mother’s life is at stake.

2016

• During a brief run for U.S Senate, DeSantis was endorsed by extreme anti-choice advocate Phyliss Schlafly. For those who don’t know, Schlafly was the person most responsible for defeating the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970’s, and the most extreme of anti-choice and anti-women extremists.

2018

• In a debate during his 2018 primary campaign, DeSantis pledged to sign legislation to ban abortions “after a heartbeat is detected,” a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.

2019

• As governor, DeSantis stacked Florida’s Supreme Court with anti-choice, right-wing judges, laying the groundwork to eliminate reproductive freedoms in the Florida Constitution. It should be noted the Florida Constitution has an explicit right to privacy enshrined in Section 23 which in 1989 was interpreted by The Supreme Court of Florida to protect reproductive freedom.

2020

• DeSantis signed a bill meant to trigger a legal challenge that would allow a reinterpretation of the Florida constitution’s privacy clause, which protects abortion access in the state.

2021

• Governor DeSantis expressed interest in a Texas-Style abortion ban and signed onto an amicus brief encouraging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

• DeSantis vetoed funding for long-acting contraception in low-income communities in Florida. 

2022

Governor DeSantis signed an abortion ban into law that narrowed the window to practice reproductive freedom from 24 to 15 weeks with no exceptions for rape, incest, or instances of human trafficking, despite the efforts of Democrats in the legislature.

DeSantis vetoed funding for long-acting contraception in low-income communities in Florida again. 

Moments after the Supreme court overturned Roe Vs. Wade, Ron DeSantis released an ominous statement vowing to continue to restrict reproductive freedom without letting Floridians know what measures he would take. This came not long after DeSantis failed to acknowledge the Juneteenth Holiday publicly nor celebrate Pride Month…