Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was confronted about his stance on abortion during a heated debate with Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist.
During the debate, Crist criticized the 15-week abortion ban under Florida law. According to Crist, the law — which makes no exceptions in cases where victims have become pregnant as a result rape or incest — as “callous and barbaric."
However, DeSantis attempted to defend the restrictive law while making a flurry of false claims to support his arguments.
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“I would like to see everybody have a shot,” DeSantis said. “I’m proud of the 15 weeks that we did. I know Charlie Crist opposes that even though the baby is fully formed, has a heartbeat, can feel pain and can suck their thumb.”
The Guardian's Martin Pengelly notes, "A fetus can suck its thumb at 12 weeks but is not fully formed at 15."
He went on to cite facts from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to refute DeSantis' claims about pain. “The science conclusively establishes that a human fetus does not have the capacity to experience pain until after at least 24–25 weeks, the professional organization explains.
“Every major medical organization that has examined this issue and peer-reviewed studies on the matter have consistently reached the conclusion that abortion before this point does not result in the perception of pain in a fetus.”
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The Republican governor also insisted that his opponent supports abortion “until the moment of birth” and “dismemberment abortions” although neither practice exists.
Pengally also noted The New York Times has also offered more perspective on the dismemberment argument describing it as "a pejorative term for procedures performed later in pregnancy that, when they do happen, are often prompted by medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormalities."
Democrats are hoping the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade motivates voters to head to the polls in November.
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