2017: DeSantis Voted For The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, Which Banned Abortion After 20-Weeks. In October 2017, DeSantis voted for legislation banning abortion after the fetus is 20-weeks old. According to Congressional Quarterly, “Passage of the bill that would prohibit abortions in cases where the probable age of the fetus is 20 weeks or later and would impose criminal penalties on doctors who violate the ban. It would provide exceptions for cases in which the woman’s life is in danger as well as for pregnancies that are a result of rape for pregnancies that are a result of rape against an adult woman, if the woman received counseling or medical treatment for the rape at least 48 hours prior to the abortion. An exception would be provided for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest against a minor if the rape or incest had been previously reported to law enforcement or another government agency authorized to act on reports of child abuse. The bill would require a second doctor trained in neonatal resuscitation to be present for abortions where the fetus has the ‘potential’ to survive outside the womb.” The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 237 to 189. [House Vote 549, 10/3/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/3/17; Congressional Actions, H.R. 36]
2015: DeSantis Voted For A Bill That Would Prohibit Abortions After 20-Weeks Gestation. In May 2015, DeSantis voted for a bill that would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of gestation and would impose criminal penalties on doctors that violated the ban. According to Congressional Quarterly, the amendment would, “prohibit abortions in cases where the probable age of the fetus is 20 weeks or later and would impose criminal penalties on doctors who violate the ban. It would provide exceptions for cases in which the woman’s life is in danger as well as for pregnancies that are a result of rape if, as amended, for pregnancies that are a result of rape against an adult woman, the woman received counseling or medical treatment for the rape at least 48 hours prior to the abortion. An exception would be provided for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest against a minor if the rape or incest had been previously reported to law enforcement or another government agency authorized to act on reports of child abuse. As amended, the bill would require a second doctor trained in neonatal resuscitation to be present for abortions where the fetus has the ‘potential’ to survive outside the womb, and, if the fetus is born alive, the bill would require that the infant be provided medical care and immediately be transported and admitted to a hospital. As amended, women wishing to have abortions under the bill’s exceptions would need to sign (along with the doctor and a witness) an informed consent authorization form detailing the age of the fetus and stating that, if born alive, would be given medical assistance and transported to a hospital.” The vote was on passage and the House passed the bill 242 to 184. Cloture on the motion to proceed on the bill was blocked in the Senate. [House Vote 223, 5/13/15; Congressional Quarterly, 5/13/15; Congressional Quarterly, 5/12/15; Congressional Actions, H.R. 36]
Rep. DeSantis Co-Sponsored ‘Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.’ According to Congress.gov, “Rep. Ron DeSantis co-sponsored Rep. Franks bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” [Congress.gov, Accessed 1/26/16]
[Audio] 2016: DeSantis Touted Pain Capable Legislation Introduced By The GOP. “Question: Fight for the unborn? DeSantis: Yeah we did the pain threshold bill in 2013 and 2015. Try to defund public money for abortion, mainly because people don’t want tax dollars going to abortion, so if you subsidize something you get more of it. Religious liberty protections by forcing Little Sisters of the Poor to buy abortion-inducing drugs. If government gets bigger religious freedoms get called into question and if Garland were on the bench he will overturn religious freedom.” [Ron DeSantis Jihad Speech Tour in Panama City, 04/05/16; 160405_EW_474]
2013: DeSantis Voted For Banning Abortion After 20 Weeks. In June 2013, DeSantis voted for a bill banning most abortion across the country twenty weeks after conception. According to Congressional Quarterly, “Passage of the bill that would create a nationwide ban on abortions performed at 20 weeks or later, except in cases where the life of the woman is in danger. It would provide exceptions to the ban in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest against a minor, if it has been reported to law enforcement or a government agency authorized to act on reports of child abuse. It also would impose criminal penalties on physicians who violate the ban and subject violators to a maximum five-year jail sentence, fines or both.” The House approved the bill by a vote of 228 to 196. As of November 2013, the Senate had taken any substantive action on the bill. [House Vote 251, 6/18/13; Congressional Quarterly, 6/18/13; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1797]
2013: DeSantis Voted In Committee To Ban Most Abortions At Or Beyond 20 Weeks Of Pregnancy, Except When The Life Of The Mother Is In Danger. In June 2013, DeSantis voted to ban most abortions at or beyond 20 weeks. According to Congressional Quarterly, the legislation would have, “Ban[ned] most abortions nationwide performed at or beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy, with an exception for a woman whose life is in danger. Under the amended bill, those who perform such abortions could face up to five years in prison. The woman receiving the abortion could not be prosecuted.” The House Judiciary subcommittee on Constitution and Civil Justice agreed to the legislation by a vote of 6 to 4. The full committee, and later the House passed the measure, but it died in the Senate. [Congressional Quarterly, 6/4/13; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1797]
2013: DeSantis Voted In Committee To Ban Most Abortions At Or Beyond 20 Weeks Of Pregnancy, Except When Only The Life Of The Mother Is In Danger. In June 2013, DeSantis voted to ban most abortions at or beyond 20 weeks. According to Congressional Quarterly, the legislation would have, “Create[d] a nationwide ban on abortions performed at 20 weeks post-fertilization or beyond, with an exception if the woman’s life is in danger.” The House Judiciary committee agreed to the legislation by a vote of 20 to 12. The House later passed the measure, but it died in the Senate. [Congressional Quarterly, 6/12/13; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1797]
2017: DeSantis Effectively Voted Against Allowing An Exception For The Life Of The Mother From A 20-Week Abortion Ban. In October 2017, DeSantis effectively voted against an amendment that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, “add[ed] an exception to the 20-week abortion ban for abortions necessary to save the health of the pregnant woman.” The underlying legislation was a 20-week abortion ban. The House rejected the motion to recommit by a vote of 187 to 238. [House Vote 548, 10/3/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/3/17; Congressional Actions, H.R. 36]
2015: DeSantis Effectively Voted Against To Allow An Exception To A 20-Week Abortion Ban If The Health Of The Woman Was In Danger. In May 2015, DeSantis voted against an exception to a 20-week abortion ban for when the life of the pregnant woman was at risk. According to the Congressional Quarterly, the legislation was a motion to “recommit the bill to the House Judiciary Committee with instructions to report back immediately with an amendment that would add an exception to the 20-week abortion ban for abortions necessary to save the health of the pregnant woman.” The larger legislation was HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have prohibited “an abortion from being performed if the probably post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater” except where it is necessary to save the life of the mother, or in the case of rape or incest if the woman had had counseling and had reported the incident. The vote was on a motion to recommit with instructions and the House rejected the motion 181 to 246. HR 36 passed the House on May 13, 2015 in a vote 242-184. [House Vote 222, 5/13/15; Congressional Quarterly, 5/13/15; Congress.gov, 5/13/15]
2013: DeSantis Voted In Committee Against Expanding An Exemption To A 20-Week Abortion Ban To Include The Woman’s Health More Broadly That Only Life Threatening. In June 2013, DeSantis voted against an amendment that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, “expand[ed] the existing life-endangerment exception to include a woman’s health more broadly. It also would strip the bill’s explicit exclusion of mental health considerations as a reason to allow an abortion at or beyond 20 weeks post-fertilization.” The underlying measure was H.R. 1797, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have “Create[d] a nationwide ban on abortions performed at 20 weeks post-fertilization or beyond, with an exception if the woman’s life is in danger.” The vote was on the amendment. The House Judiciary committee rejected the amendment by a vote of 16 to 20. The full committee, and later the House passed the underlying legislation, but it died in the Senate. [Congressional Quarterly, 6/12/13; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1797]
2013: DeSantis Voted In Committee Against Creating An Exemption To A 20-Week Abortion Ban For Pregnancies Resulting To Rape Or Incest. In June 2013, DeSantis voted against creating an exemption to a proposed 20-week abortion ban for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. According to Congressional Quarterly, the vote was an amendment that would have “create an exception to the abortion ban for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.” The underlying measure was H.R. 1797, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have “Create[d] a nationwide ban on abortions performed at 20 weeks post-fertilization or beyond, with an exception if the woman’s life is in danger.” The vote was on the amendment. The House Judiciary committee rejected the amendment by a vote of 13 to 17. The full committee, and later the House passed the underlying legislation, but it died in the Senate. [Congressional Quarterly, 6/12/13; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1797]
DeSantis Did Not Respond To Requests For A Statement On Senator Marco Rubio’s Opposition “To All Abortions With No Exceptions For Cases Of Rape Or Incest.” According to Florida Politics, “Perhaps Monday was just a busy day in the GOP Senate campaign. Too busy, perhaps, to craft even a pro forma response regarding the question of whether or not they shared Marco Rubio’s abortion position, described by Florida Democratic Party chair Allison Tant as opposition ‘to all abortions with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.’ The press shops for David Jolly, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, and Ron DeSantis were all contacted Monday afternoon with a simple question: ‘I was wondering if your candidate had a reaction to this, as the Dems have called [your candidate] out on it. If I could get a statement today regarding where [your candidate is vis a vis the Rubio position, it would be appreciated.’ And… nothing.” [Florida Politics, 2/9/16]