Democrats fly banner over Mar-a-Lago blaming Trump for Florida's 'extreme' abortion ban

Hours after Florida's six-week abortion ban took effect Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee put the blame squarely on former President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday afternoon, the DNC flew a banner over the former president's Mar-a-Lago Club that read "Trump's Plan: Ban Abortion, Punish Women."

Florida's ban became possible after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, in part because of the three conservative justices appointed by Trump to the high court.

“Donald Trump is the reason for Florida’s extreme abortion ban, and for every abortion ban across the country," DNC spokesperson Jackie Bush said in a statement. "As women suffer, Trump claims overturning Roe and his extreme bans are working the way they’re ‘supposed to.’ Trump supports letting states punish women and their doctors. If given the chance, he’ll go even further with an extreme nationwide ban. The stakes of this election are clear: the only way to restore and safeguard our freedoms is to reelect President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Florida's six-week ban was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last April, but only took effect Wednesday after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the state's previous 15-week ban, which allowed the six-week ban to be enforced.

Floridians will vote on a constitutional amendment in November that would guarantee abortion access through viability — typically 24 weeks of pregnancy and previously the federal standard set by Roe v. Wade.

However, a recent Florida Atlantic University poll showed that the amendment has yet to gain the 60% threshold needed for approval.

“In order for the ballot initiative to become a constitutional amendment in Florida’s Constitution, 60% of voters need to be in agreement since the rules for a constitutional amendment were changed by the Florida Legislature in 2006,” said Dr. Luzmarina Garcia, assistant professor of political science at FAU. “The results point to a 11% gain that needs to happen between now and November 5 for the ballot initiative to pass.”

Trump has taken credit for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, and in an interview with Time Magazine last month, he said states should decide whether to prosecute women for abortions or whether to monitor women’s pregnancies.

“The states are going to make that decision,” he told Time. “The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”

In addition to flying a banner over Mar-a-Lago Wednesday, the DNC launched a bilingual billboard campaign at high-traffic sites in Gainesville, South Florida, Tampa and Orlando.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Democrats fly banner blaming Trump for Florida's new abortion ban