Governor. Ron DeSantis and state officials have attempted to overturn abortion rights at almost every step and have blurred the lines by using their official power to fight the Amendment 4 citizen ballot initiative.

Amendment 4, which seeks to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, will be decided in Tuesday’s election. The ballot initiatives come after Florida lawmakers passed a ban on abortion at six weeks for most pregnancies, which took effect in May.

DeSantis’ abortion rights supporters praise him for doing everything he can to fight for the unborn.

“He exhausted all possible resources to prevent the amendment, but the opposition was brutally provocative. This reminds me of the story of David and Goliath. Governor, you are the David of history,” Dr. Ana Verdeja-Pérezan obstetrician-gynecologist from Plant City, at a rally next to DeSantis.

DeSantis’ critics say what he is doing is illegal and call the state’s fight using taxpayer resources unprecedented. The governor is trying to distract from Florida’s extreme abortion ban, they say.

“The government cannot silence the truth about Florida’s extreme abortion ban. It’s a deadly ban that puts women’s lives at risk. Lauren BrenzelYes on 4 campaign director, adding that “Floridians will not back down from government intimidation.”

Amendment 4 began when a Grassroots efforts helped collect signatures to get the initiative restoring abortion rights on the ballot.

The Florida Supreme Court voted 4-3 to put the issue before voters. Judges Renatha Francis and Meredith Sassowho were against his inclusion on the ballot, are also up for re-election in Tuesday’s election.

Then this summer, a normally dull state panel turned into political drama after a DeSantis representative and a Heritage Foundation staffer were added to the panel to assess the financial impact of Amendment 4 . Revolt against the state’s greatest economistthe group decided that a “financial impact statement” should appear on the ballot to warn voters about legal costs and more.

Floridians Protect Liberty (FPF), the political group supporting Amendment 4, called it dirty political maneuvers intended to persuade voters to reject the initiative. However, FPF failed to challenge financial impact statement – ​​a common occurrence, with most of its lawsuits or legal challenges failing to check Republican power.

DeSantis later accused Amendment 4 concerns petition fraud, and there have been reports of election police knocking on doors to investigate these allegations. Democrats called it a witch hunt and argued the petitions were verified by the counties’ supervisor of elections.

The State issued a 350 page report That said, the FPF illegally paid petitioners based on the number of signatures they collected.

The state report served as the basis for defenders of life will continue in the Orange County Circuit to challenge Tuesday’s election results before the votes were counted. The plaintiffs are represented by a former Florida Supreme Court justice. Alan Lawson.

The state also launched its own public campaign against Amendment 4.

A health care administration agency website warned voters that Amendment 4 was dangerous for women and children. A Leon Circuit Court judge authorized the website stand after the FPF filed a lawsuit.

With the elections about a month away, the Department of Health (DOH) sent cease and desist letters to television stations threatening them with criminal prosecution if they aired an ad on abortion rights featuring Caroline. A CBS station, WINK-TV in Fort Myers, removed the ads for five days.

The Department of Health lawyer who signed the cease and desist letters has resigned from his position and said they were written by DeSantis’ lawyers.

A federal judge ordered the state stopped threatening media outlets with criminal prosecution and issued a temporary restraining order that was extended until November 12, after the election.

Meanwhile, DeSantis is spending the final days before Election Day traveling the state with anti-Amendment 4 doctors, religious leaders and even church leaders. Tony Dungy, former NFL coach to urge voters to reject Amendment 4. DeSantis also threatens doctors who speak out against the state’s ban on abortion, saying they should be sued for medical malpractice.

In what has become an all-out war, the FPF has raised more than $110 million, and polls show Amendment 4 close to or meeting the 60 percent majority to pass. But the large number of undecided voters and the potential poll error means Tuesday will be a close race.

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