NEW: DeSantis Doubles Down On Extreme Abortion Ban In Race for MAGA Base

From recommitting to passing an extremely restrictive abortion ban in Florida to his dangerous anti-vaccine rhetoric to announcing his opposition to marriage equality protections, Ron DeSantis continues to push his extreme agenda as he competes for the MAGA base in the 2024 Republican primary – and he’s not done yet. DeSantis is planning to keep the drumbeat going with special sessions to pass harsher abortion bans and extreme gun laws in Florida over the next few months.

Despite already signing an extreme abortion ban that has no exceptions for rape and incest and threatens to prosecute providers, DeSantis is setting the groundwork to follow through on his 2018 pledge to pass a dangerous 6-week abortion ban in Florida.

Florida Politics: “Gov. DeSantis ‘ready to sign’ abortion ‘heartbeat bill’”

Politico: “And there will be more steps by DeSantis to lure conservatives to his side in the coming weeks and months ahead. There are already rumblings that state lawmakers will hold special legislative sessions between now and March to tackle issues such as guns and abortion.”

Tallahassee Democrat: “In Florida, strategy sessions involving representatives of DeSantis, including his chief-of-staff, James Uthmeier, and anti-abortion advocates have already taken place, according to some participants who did not want to speak publicly about the internal discussions.

“DeSantis in his 2018 campaign for governor said during the Republican primary that he would support a law banning abortion when a fetal heartbeat is thought to be detected, usually around six weeks.”

This week, DeSantis orchestrated a major political production to rehash dangerous rhetoric on lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines and signal how providers could be prosecuted under his latest move – despite advocating for vaccines himself at the beginning of the pandemic.

HuffPost: “DeSantis, Who Once Praised Vaccines, Now Wants To Prosecute Those Who Pushed Them”

NBC: “DeSantis was a major booster of the vaccines last year and once called them lifesaving, but he later turned against them, mirroring a shift in conservative Republican opinion.”

The same day, DeSantis took to the comforts of Fox News to double down on his anti-vaccine stunt and oppose the Respect For Marriage Act, which guarantees protections for same-sex and interracial couples’ right to marry.

DeSantis: “There was certainly no need to do this.”

DeSantis isn’t taking his foot off the gas in the race for the MAGA base, and he’ll continue to reveal more of his extreme plans to try to win it along the way.