Florida’s biggest anti-abortion politicians are seeking reelection in November

These legislators have consistently voted to take away a woman’s right to body autonomy. Some are actively working to defeat the grassroots referendum that would overturn Gov. DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban and enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution.  

In November, Florida voters will decide the fate of abortion rights in the Sunshine State.

Amendment 4 – the referendum that would overturn the six-week abortion ban signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year and restore reproductive rights in the state until fetal viability, which is generally understood to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy – needs 60% of the vote to pass. 

“Politicians should not be involved with the process of trying to dictate what’s best for a woman’s medical care,” said Lauren Brenzel, speaking on behalf of Floridians Protecting Freedom, the sponsors of the abortion amendment.

Dr. Mona Mangat, a St. Petersburg physician and Board Chair of the Committee to Protect Health Care, strongly agrees.

“As a physician, I know that when it comes to issues as personal and complicated as pregnancy, politicians are never more qualified to make health care decisions than patients and their doctors,” Dr. Mangat said. “Politicians have no place in our exam rooms.” 

RELATED: DeSantis’ administration uses taxpayer dollars in “desperate attempt” to sabotage Amendment 4

But Florida Republicans don’t seem to agree with this sentiment. In fact, last November every Florida Republican in the US House of Representatives voted to elect anti-abortion extremist Mike Johnson as the new Speaker of the House.

Two of Florida’s most outspoken anti-abortion candidates – Anna Paulina Luna and Maria Elvira Salazar – consistently waffle or dodge stating their position on Amendment 4, while Sen. Rick Scott has vowed to defeat it. Their records speak for themselves.

Rick Scott

The Republican Senator recently pledged to oppose Amendment 4 and pull out all the stops to prevent it from passing.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure these don’t pass,” Scott said last month at the Duval County Republican Party headquarters in Jacksonville, referring to Amendment 4 and another amendment seeking to legalize recreational marijuana.

Scott’s opposition to Amendment 4 comes as no surprise, as his record is littered with votes and remarks that are hostile to reproductive rights:

• In 2011, while running for governor, Scott called for the overturning of Roe v Wade.
• In 2012, Scott supported a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act’s rule that required insurance plans to cover birth control. 
• In 2015, Scott signed legislation mandating a 24-hour waiting period before patients could receive abortion care.
• In 2016, Scott signed TRAP law legislation that created medically unnecessary regulations for abortion clinics with the goal of forcing them to shut down.
• In 2020, Sen. Scott co-sponsored and voted for a national abortion ban.
• In 2022, he seemed open to a federal abortion ban.
• In 2023, Scott openly expressed his support for Florida’s extreme abortion ban.
• In 2024, Scott reiterated his support for Florida’s extreme abortion ban, voted against the Right to Contraception Act, and voted against the Right to IVF Act.”

Scott is currently running for the Senate against Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a pro-choice advocate.

Anna Paulina Luna

Although she has not publicly expressed an opinion on Amendment 4, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, a self-described “pro-life extremist,” celebrated the decision. “I’m not hiding that!” she laughingly said in a campaign video. 

And as her voting record shows, while in Congress, Luna has consistently voted against a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health care decisions with her doctor. 

• Voted to take away resources from active-duty service members forced to travel out-of-state to get an abortion.
• Introduced a “Right to Try IVF Act” bill that opponents say would prevent a licensed physician from performing in vitro fertilization on a woman who has been certified as experiencing medical hardship conceiving a child.

Luna is up for reelection this year for Florida’s US House District 13 in Pinellas County. She is running against Whitney Fox, a pro-choice Democrat backed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the funding arm of the reproductive rights advocacy group. Fox has strongly expressed her belief that women “deserve the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions without government overreach.”

María Elvira Salazar 

Republican María Elvira Salazar has consistently voted against a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health care decisions with her doctor. She has not taken a public stance on Amendment 4, and when asked about her vote to allow states to ban abortion, she alleged that she “didn’t remember” how she voted.

While in Congress, Salazar, the representative for Florida’s 27th congressional district:

• Voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law.
• Voted to restrict access to medication abortion nationwide and to take away resources from active-duty service members forced to travel out-of-state to get an abortion. 
• Supported the Florida House when it passed CS/HB 5, a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks that was signed into law in 2022 by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The 62-year-old mother of two is currently running for re-election to the US House for Florida’s 27th Congressional District in Miami-Dade against Democrat Lucia Báez-Geller, a pro-choice Democrat who in a Miami Herald op-ed, shared the story of her own nonviable pregnancy before Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect in May. She also highlighted her fears that other women would not receive the medical care that she was able to receive under the six-week ban.

Other state Republicans who are up for reelection in November and are working to defeat Amendment 4 include:

• Congressman Matt Gaetz: “I’m not voting for Amendment 4, and I encourage all of my congressional colleagues to join me in voicing their opposition,” he posted on X in August.
• Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., who that same month posted on X that he “staunchly” opposes the amendment, pointing to how “liberals have made a mockery of the issue of life.”
• Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, whose office told Fox News Digital he will be voting against the amendment. Rubio has long opposed including rape and incest exceptions in abortion cases.

A decisive moment

Despite efforts by Republican lawmakers and the DeSantis administration to derail the grassroots referendum to enshrine abortion in the state Constitution, a recent survey from KFF revealed that approximately 7 in 10 women in Florida say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 

Amendment 4 requires 60% of voters voting “Yes” in order to pass.

RELATED: Just the facts: What you need to know about Florida’s Amendment 4