Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is vying to be the 2024 GOP presidential candidate, said in an interview this week that he believes that fathers should start paying child support from the moment of conception.
“These men – look most of these women do not want to have abortions. But, they feel like they have no other options, cause they get no support,” he told Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany. “And that’s because a lot of these men are nowhere to be found. They should absolutely be providing support, they should absolutely be held accountable.”
McEnany’s mentioned Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and his Unborn Child Support Act in her question for DeSantis, and said it would force men to “give women what they are due,” from the start of pregnancy. In Florida, the governor has already signed legislation aimed at paving the way for more fathers to pay child support.
“What we’ve done in Florida is we’ve recognized that being pro-life is for the whole kit and caboodle,” DeSantis said. “So, we’ve expanded postpartum medical care for women to a full year after they have a child,” as well as expanding options for foster care and adoption options.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, Florida also has restrictive laws around abortion.
DeSantis’ comments on child support during pregnancy were met with backlash on social media, Newsweek reported. On X (formerly Twitter) it seemed like people on both the right and the left were critical of the proposal.
Some said that this legislation would be difficult to enforce. Others noted that men already find ways to avoid paying child support and that the payments would still not be enough to help victims of rape or incest.
Per the Kaiser Family Foundation, a decade-long decline in abortions recently reversed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade protections with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision.
“Most attribute the long-term decline in abortion rates to increased use of more effective methods of contraception,” said the KFF. It also said that, while women from all backgrounds get abortions, most are in their 20s, are low-income and women of color.
Gallup polling from this summer found that most Americans believe abortion should be legal to some degree. A majority of the country also disagrees with the conservative-leaning Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
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