Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s response to a question about abortion during the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday resulted in him getting trolled.
“I know a lady in Florida named Penny. She survived multiple abortion attempts. She was left discarded in a pan,” DeSantis said. “Fortunately, her grandmother saved her and brought her to a different hospital. We’re better than what the Democrats are selling. We are not going to allow abortion all the way up till birth, and we will hold them accountable for their extremism.”
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Following his seemingly fantastical tale on the debate stage, many on social media pointed out how “late-term” abortions targeting born, living infants was nor real as abortion all the way up to birth almost never happens.
“Ron desantis said he knows a lady named penny from florida who “survived multiple abortion attempts” and was left discarded in a pan……….. then he didn’t speak again for like 10 minutes?” one of the users on X, formerly known as Twitter said. Another commented: “I for one, would like to meet the aborted fetus that was pulled off a pan, rushed to a hospital, and saved by her grandmother. I feel like a Trump insider fed DeSantis that bullshit and he just ran with it. Lol”
A third tweeted, “No one is trying to allow abortions right up to birth. You asshole, DeSantis. #GOPDebate.” One more posted, “Worth noting that fewer than 1% of abortions occur in the third trimester. #GOPDebate”
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The woman named “Penny” whom DeSantis referenced in the debate was reportedly an anti-abortion activist from Michigan who’s acted as a spokesperson for Protect Life Michigan. She claimed to be born at 23 weeks in 1955 after her parents decided to have an abortion. She was allegedly born at just one pound and 11 ounces. She was eventually rescued by her grandmother and brought to a hospital in Florida. It is important to mention that her story has never been fact-checked.