Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R) said this week that her opinion on the state’s ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution “doesn’t really matter.”
Luna told Politico on Thursday that she believes the topic is a “state’s rights issue.”
“I don’t think that questions of policy should be placed on the ballot, and I think that there’s some things that are up for debate within the medical community alone,” Luna told the outlet when asked how she would vote on the measure in November. “The Supreme Court said, as a federal legislator, that my opinion on the matter doesn’t really matter.”
Florida voters will choose yes or no on Amendment 4, which would guarantee abortion rights in the state’s constitution. A six-week abortion ban is in effect in Florida, which the state’s Supreme Court approved in April. But the court also allowed for the ballot measure to go before voters in November.
Polls show a majority of voters support the measure, but it will need to meet a 60 percent threshold to pass. A poll released by The Hill and Emerson College last week showed that 55 percent of voters said they would vote yes on the measure.
Democrats say they are hopeful the ballot measure will drive turnout in November and benefit their candidates, and they are using the issue to pressure Republicans who are facing reelection in the state, including Luna. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Luna’s seat as “lean Republican,” and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has included Luna’s district on its target list.
However, Luna and other Republicans are facing pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to publicly oppose the measure.
“It’s important that all of our political leaders, you know, stand up and be counted. Right now. You know, there’s some people that just, it’s like the political winds. Like if the winds are against you, you run and hide. That’s not leadership, that is not what’s going to make this state great,” DeSantis said last weekend, speaking at a Florida GOP fundraising dinner.
“You’ve got to stand up even when it’s not easy, even when you’re taking the arrows, stand up and do what’s right,” he said.