Florida Supreme Court Justice Renatha Francis Credit: Florida Supreme Court

There are seven justices who make up the Florida Supreme Court and two of them—both DeSantis appointees—are up for a retention vote this year. Both have a record indicating they are anti-choice when it comes to abortion access.

For us, it’s a “No” vote on retention for both Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso.

Just know that if these judges are removed, DeSantis does get to pick their replacements.

Here’s some background reporting from Orlando Weekly for context.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Renatha Francis: Anti-abortion

Justice Renatha Francis was appointed by DeSantis to her position on the state’s highest court in 2022. He previously tried to appoint her in 2020, but she wasn’t yet qualified for the role. Prior to her current position, she worked as counsel at a law firm, working on class action and mass litigation and spent six years clerking for the 1st District Court of Appeals.

Where does she land on the issue of abortion? On April 1, the Florida Supreme Court issued two rulings: one allowed Florida’s pro-abortion Amendment 4 to go on the ballot this year. The other upheld the 15-week abortion ban and thus allowed Florida’s current six-week ban to go into effect one month later. Francis wrote the dissent on the ruling that allowed Amendment 4 to go into effect: “One must recognize the unborn’s competing right to life, and the state’s moral duty to protect that life.”

Francis is also a member of the Federalist Society, a legal group dedicated to helping conservatives (like those that overturned Roe v. Wade) climb the judicial ranks and secure appointments to influential courts.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso: Anti-abortion

Justice Meredith Sasso—wife of Valencia College board of trustees member and Public Employees Relations Commissioner Michael Sasso—was appointed to the state’s highest court by DeSantis in 2023. She had previously been appointed by DeSantis to serve on the 6th District Court of Appeals and, before that, worked in the Office of General Counsel to Gov. Rick Scott. Sasso, like Francis, dissented on the ruling that allowed Amendment 4 to make it onto the ballot. Meaning, she was in favor of blocking its placement on the ballot. Like Francis, Sasso is also a member of the Federalist Society and concurred with the majority on the ruling that Florida’s 15-week ban should be upheld, thus allowing the six-week ban to later go into effect.

See all of CL’s ballot recommendations on our 2024 general election landing page.

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This article appears in Oct 17-23, 2024.