WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Senator Rick Scott of Florida this week joined the ranks of Republican incumbents struggling to strike a balance on reproductive rights, saying he opposes November ballot initiative to overturn his state’s six-week abortion ban, but believes Congress should leave those decisions up to the states.
Scott, who is seeking re-election this fall, was one of a number of senators who followed the previous one To President Donald Trump lead in softening the GOP’s messaging on abortion. It comes after a 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down the constitutional right to abortion and left the issue up to states. Democrats, buoyed by a string of victories in statewide initiatives and other races since then, have made it clear they hope to put the issue front and center this November.
After the Florida Supreme Court approved the abortion amendment for the November ballot, Scott said in a statement that he believes in “reasonable restrictions on abortion” and is focused on ensuring that IVF treatments are protected and adoptions are more accessible.
“We all know that life is the greatest gift we’ve ever been given, we want to welcome every unborn baby into life and we prefer adoption over abortion,” Scott said.
Scott is toning down his messaging amid tumultuous abortion politics across the country. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state officials can enforce an 1864 law criminalizing all abortions except when the woman’s life is in danger.
Florida Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing not only to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, but to raise the issue in their efforts to unseat Scott and other Republicans. Rep. Debbie Mucarsell-Powell, one of the leading Democrats seeking her party’s nomination against Scott, said the fight was about “the basic dignity of a woman to be able to make that choice about her own body when and how to start a family.”
Mucarcel-Powell said in an interview after the Florida court’s decision last week that a vote in favor of the state’s abortion rights amendment in November was not the end of the game. She said voters should vote Scott out of office so he “doesn’t have a say in what happens to women.”
Once considered the quintessential swing state, Florida has become more conservative in recent years. Trump won there in 2016 and 2020, but Democrats, who trail license plates by about 800,000 voters, hope the focus on abortion rights will to turn the state back to their advantage.
Scott has been tagged by national Democrats as a top target this year in their effort to retain a narrow majority in the Senate, even though Democrats are defending more seats than Republicans. The stakes are especially high for Scott, who said last month he was “seriously considering” a run for Senate leader. In 2022, he ran against U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell for top Republican in the Senate, but lost 37-10.
McConnell recently announced his intention to step down from the Senate leadership later this year.
Florida’s April 1 Supreme Court rulings include upholding a 15-week abortion ban and a trigger mechanism that would put the state’s six-week abortion ban in place by next month. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said Florida women have higher stakes on the ballot than they have in years.
“The fight against these new restrictions on abortion access will shine a brighter light on Rick Scott’s long and dangerous record of supporting draconian abortion bans,” said Maeve Coyle, spokeswoman for the DSCC. “In November, Florida voters will stand up for women’s freedom to make their most personal medical decisions by rejecting this abortion ban and firing Rick Scott from the Senate.”
