Gov. DeSantis campaigns in Naples against Amendment 4

On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Collier County where he made his case on why he believes Floridians should vote against Amendment 4.

On his tour of the state, DeSantis made a stop at First Baptist Church in Naples to campaign against the measure that would eliminate Florida’s current six week abortion ban.

DeSantis, who signed the current ban into law, has fought fervently against the amendment since it was first petitioned.

“This is wrong to not have any definition. There’s no definitions in any of this. That’s a reason enough to vote no,” said DeSantis.

At the press conference, DeSantis stood with a group of Southwest Florida physicians wearing white lab coats.

Among this group was Dr. Steve Hannon, a physician from Fort Myers.

“There’s nothing in there that says the physician has to be involved in the discussion about the best way to proceed, or even that a trained physician has to be the one doing the procedure,” said Hannon. “If Amendment 4 passes, we’re going to go from a multi-page document in the Florida Statutes that offers detailed medical specifics and we’re going to move to a two sentence amendment that is completely lacking in medical specifics.”

DeSantis said if the measure gets 60% of the vote, it will become permanent.

“The legislature cannot alter a constitutional provision. So, if anyone tells you the legislature will fix either of these two amendments, understand that’s physically impossible to do,” said DeSantis.

The executive director of Florida Planned Parenthood, Laura Goodhue, said that abortion should be a matter of personal choice.

“The government should not be making decisions for individuals and families, and that’s what freedom is all about,” said Goodhue. “We strongly believe that a vote for this means getting government interference out of our personal, private lives and putting an end to this egregious abortion ban.”

While the measure seemed to be gaining support, a recent poll by the New York Times and Siena College found that support for Amendment 4 is at 46%, falling short of the 60% needed to pass.