speech fl studio

• SOUNDIRON Tablas 2.0 Review
• 9 Best Vocoder Plugins for Vocal Mayhem
• Best Flute VSTs: Top 7 Plugins for 2020
• Best Ableton Plugins: Top 9 VST’s
• Best Limiter Plugins: Top 9 for Mixing and Mastering
• Best Rhodes VST’s: 6 Plugins You Should Try
• Best Compressor Plugins: Top 9 Picks
• Best Waves Plugins: Top 18 Must Have Essentials

How To Create Computerized Vocals In FL Studio Without Vocalist

In this tutorial, I will show you how you can make your computer to talk and use it in your electronic music. In FL Studio, there’s a Speech Synthesizer which renders a typed text to audio. Of course, it will sound a bit monotonous and machine like talk, but that might be exactly what you’re looking for. Use it with a good taste, and you can make your songs rock!

Here’s a sound example:

And this is how you create it.

Go to the the Channels -> Add one and select Speech synthesizer. Pop-up dialog will open (the Speech synthesizer is not a stand-alone instrument, it is a pop-up dialog that processes text to audio then renders the result as a sliced Audio Clip). In the text box you enter the text you want the speech synth to render to audio. Click the ‘Listen’ button to audition it. Under the Voice -section, there’s a various ways to change the characteristics of the voice such as the speed and pitch.

To make the voice sound like in the example, choose Robotoid (default) under the ‘Personality’ -menu and type the following text:

hello world fls(1) talking(-2) here you can make it talk if(-6) you(-6) want(-6)

If you wonder what those numbers enclosed in parentheses does, they change the pitch of a separate word by semitones. So the word “fls” is pitched up by one semitone, the word “talking” is pitched down by two semitones and so on.

Okay, moving on: leave the other settings as is, and press Accept. The entered text will be rendered to sliced audio clip (If you have changed some of the settings in the dialog, you will be prompted to save the preset with a new name. It will be saved as .speech (speech synthesizer) file. By default, it will be saved to “FL Studio\Data\Patches\Speech” -folder and you can import them to your future projects by locating the folder via the Browser, right clicking on the preset and choosing ‘Open in new Fruity Slicer channel’).

Now, the slices will be automatically dumped to Piano Roll as notes. Each slice is a word and you can move around, re-arrange and duplicate them as you like.

You can also edit the slices a little (such as slice fade in/out, pitch shift, slicing threshold, etc) by opening the Fruity Slicer.

Ok. To make the vocals in sync with the project tempo (and to replicate the example), head to the Piano Roll and edit the notes like this (turn on the metronome to make the syncing easier):

Alright. The vocals are sounding a bit too plain as is so assign the Slicer to a free mixer track and drop a Fruity Fast Dist to the effect slot and set it like this:

Also, add Fruity Blood Overdrive to the effect slot and set it as follows:

Now, check the results:

About Author

HowToMakeElectronicMusic.com (HTMEM) - A music production website with plenty FL Studio tutorials, interviews, news, free music production tips, and free downloads.

Related Posts

How To Master A Song In FL Studio

What is a MIDI Keyboard Controller and Do I Need One?

7 Simple Steps to Make Electronic Music

18 comments.

Amazing stuff, Petri!

For sure this tutorial might appear useful for people, who are trying to work with techno, electro & harder dance styles (actually I”m one of them)!

And I always liked so much that voice of Decepticon’s SoundWave in epic serial of 80-s – ‘Transformers’! 🙂 BTW, StarWars also used them a lot.

THX for nice tutorial, man!

Thank u Max!

hey man that was a great tutorial!! it really helped a lot. but there is one other thing i was wondering, and it was how exactly did you or do you make that kind of a drum beat in FL?? kus im not too sure what style or genre of music that would go in so i dont know what to search! haha anyway thanks fer the wonderful tutorial!

Thanks for checking the tutorial and glad you’re finding it helpful !

I’m not quite sure in what genre that drum beat actually falls into. I just quickly made it by laying a kick drum, snare to the Step Sequencer and drumloop (from Vengeance Essential House 2 sample collection) on top of it.

I liked the mouse dance anyways! 🙂

Hehe ! I actually got the idea to add mouse dance to the videos from Dave @ Boyinaband – Check his Reason tutorial videos – he’s awesome !

i can’t find it even when i open more to look for it . How can i get it ? & thanks very much 🙂

Can you be more specific what you can’t find?

i didn t even know there was a speech recreation! i didn t use the distorion, but i found delay and hardcore with big gaps between words more appropriate for dance music thanks again

i just to replicate my voice to be the same as the laptop when using this program but how can i do this i just want this program to have the same voice as me. if someone knows anything that can replicate the same voice as me that would be grateful because i would like to use a laptop to speak rather than talking instead.

download link??

Hey petri i luv ths site bt cn u help me on how t creat a real hiphop bassline please help me coz im having troubls on creating a massive bassline

ahh so sweet,…vintage tutorial always welcome to me school…

I used vocodex to make the melody instead of putting the numbers to regulate the modulation, is it more viable?

I haven’t tried this yet but I’ll try when I get home. I have only thing this to say, Petri. THIS IS A FREAKIN’ AWESOME STUFF! COOL, PETRI!!! I’ll try to make a new electronic piece with a singing robot! I feel like, oh man this is the sound of the future! Thanks for sharing this tutorial, Petri.

i wanna know how to add my own vocals into a track , i tried newtone and slicex it works only with the fls vocals but not real once , can u plz help me

I can’t find the Speech Synthesizer!!

hi, can u tell me how to do ‘resynth vox’ as In the song ‘sometime’ that comes with the FL studio11 pack

Press ESC to close

Or check our popular categories....

Best Text-to-Speech Plugins for DAWs: Free and Paid

Text-to-speech (TTS) plugins for digital audio workstations (DAWs) can be a great way to include speech elements in your music.

Whether you’re looking for a nearly natural-sounding voice, a robotic effect, or something in between, TTS plugins can help you.

This article will list and review the best TTS plugins that you can use on DAWs.

Also, I’ll discuss their features and capabilities and help you pick the right one by listing each of their pros and cons.

Content Overview

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission from that purchase at no extra cost to you.

Best Text-to-Speech Plugins for DAWs (VST, AU, etc.)

1. emvoice one (paid).

Emvoice One sounds almost like an authentic human voice.

With its advanced vocal engine, you can add quality vocals to your music without hiring an actual singer.

Emvoice One comes with four voices – Keela, Lucy, Jay, and Thomas. Each voice character has different vocal ranges and abilities.

For example, Keela is an excellent choice for pop songs, while the characters Jay or Thomas might fit well for an EDM song.

These voices are created from samples of real singers, with phonemes and syllables updated often to give the plugin more range and depth in speech synthesis.

It’s easy to get started with Emvoice One. Head to their website to download the plugin and add it to your DAW’s list of VSTs.

Since it’s a cloud-based plugin, you’ll need a good internet connection. It’s available for Windows and Mac Operating Systems.

Once you’ve set it up, you can access it from the plugin list of your DAW.

As shown in the picture below, I’m using FL Studio to show how the plugin works.

To create music, you need to add notes in the MIDI and then double-click to add the text.

For example, I wrote “love is a joke” as my text using Lucy’s voice and made some adjustments to the notes to make it sound interesting.

With Emvoice One, you can add various effects to the voice, such as octaves and tuning.

It also allows you to adjust the tempo and time signatures.

After making some tweaks and adding beats to the voice, I got the following output.

The Pros of Emvoice One

• Emvoice One is easy to understand and set up, making it perfect for beginners.
• It is also compatible with most DAWs and supports MIDI input.
• Create harmonies and adjust the text’s time signatures and length according to the notes.
• Well-optimized and provides recommended pitch details based on voices.
• Access to a list of phonemes that you can use for making music.

The Cons of Emvoice One

• Emvoice One only has four voices to choose from, so you may not find the variety you’re looking for.
• Some of the pronunciations need to be adjusted to sound clear. For example, you might have to write ‘eye’ instead of ‘I’ in some notes so the vocals don’t sound ambiguous.
• Lastly, this plugin does not work offline.

Emvoice One is paid software. When on sale, you can get it for a discounted price.

Each voice is priced differently, so you can choose the one that works for you and don’t have to pay for all sound banks.

You can also test the voices out for free with its demo version.

The demo version of Emvoice One only allows you to use eight notes, but you can use it in commercial projects without restrictions.

If you want a straightforward text-to-speech plugin, consider Emvoice One.

The vocals will add more depth to your tracks without recording any singing.

2. Vocaloid 6 (Paid)

Vocaloid 6 is an AI speech synthesizer developed by Yamaha.

It is a viral text-to-speech plugin among many music producers due to its extensive support and voice banks.

Each voice bank has its unique voice quality and capabilities.

Vocaloid was first released in 2004 and has been improved over the years, and now it’s even integrated with AI technology to provide better voice output by analyzing the generated voices.

The downside of using AI is it will take more of your computer’s processing power. So for its clutterless working, you’ll have to have a system with 8 GB of RAM. 4 GB is the required minimum.

The latest version of Vocaloid comes with four new voicebanks: Haruka, Akito, Allen, and Sarah.

While Haruka and Akito have Japanese singing capabilities, Allen and Sarah are focused more on English singing/rapping.

These voicebanks can be adapted to any music genre due to the optimization capabilities of the plugin.

Installing Vocaloid is easy. Download the installation file from their website and install it on your PC.

Inside your DAW, open the Vocaloid editor, where you can enter performance data and the voice bank to select the voices you want to use.

Then click the Inspector button to control the voice, effects, and presets. Test the keyboard to make sure the voice matches the keys.

Add some melody to the keyboard. Finally, add the song’s lyrics for the plugin to generate vocals.

Vocaloid is available for Windows and Mac OS, with VST and Audio Units (AU) support.

The developers frequently update the plugin’s AI engine and voice banks to stay up-to-date and help bring out your creativity in a better way.

The Pros of Vocaloid 6

• Good AI Engine that generates natural-like singing.
• Easy to use, MIDI-supported, and compatible with most DAWs.
• Good community support through forums and tutorials.
• It can add effects, vibrato, octaves, and harmonies to the singing voices.
• It supports multiple languages. Chinese will be added in the future.
• Has over 2000 editable phrases, 100 singing styles, and 11 audio effects.
• Reliable voice banks which are constantly updated.

The Cons of Vocaloid 6

• Vocaloid 6 doesn’t support the 32-bit version of Windows.
• It doesn’t support voice banks from versions lower than Vocaloid 3.
• Requires a high-performance PC compared to other text-to-speech plugins.

Vocaloid 6 is a paid text-to-speech plugin. You can check out their website’s prices and try out the free trial version for 31 days.

If you are looking for a well-constructed advanced plugin that can do good speech synthesis from text, Vocaloid 6 is a good choice.

It comes with various voice banks, updates, features, etc., and has excellent community support.

3. Chipspeech (Paid)

Chipspeech is a plugin developed by Plogue Art et Technologie, Inc. It synthesizes speech that sounds more vintage and exquisite.

It can work with DAWs running on Windows and Mac OS and is flexible, supporting audio emulations and allowing you to create unique electronic vocals.

The Chipspeech plugin has an organized interface with separate layers for words, controls, modulation, and mixing.

This makes it easy for you to experiment with and create unique vocal sounds.

All you need to do is type the words you want to synthesize, and the plugin will convert them into 12 distinct voices with different tonal qualities.

You can then use these voices to add a special touch to the song you’re creating.

You can use Chipspeech standalone or by loading the plugin into your DAW.

Connect your MIDI instrument to the plugin to make your music unique to generate interesting musical chords and sequences.

Chipspeech provides 128 text channels to input words and play them whenever you want.

The plugin’s user interface has a dedicated voice change button that includes features like Wave Rate and Phoneme Speed.

Popular voices used in Chipspeech include Otto Mozer, Dee Klatt, and Lady Parsec. The synthesis engine also has three circuit bending modes.

Regarding the control section, you can adjust the chosen voice. You can use helium, sizzle, and impulse effects.

You can also detune the voice, control the legato, and adjust the octaves. The voice modulation helps humanize and pitch up and down the track.

The mixing part of the plugin has various FX, giving you plenty of options to experiment and create the sound you’re looking for.

You can also set up your presets and loop, cut, and edit the chosen voice. Now let’s look into the pros and cons of Chipspeech.

The Pros of Chipspeech

• Easy to use, beginner-friendly, and DAW-compatible.
• Efficient mixing and circuit bending evolution, helping users make new chaotic, expressive, and quaint sounds.
• Twelve distinct voices will help achieve unique tonality for the tracks made by the users.
• Good English pronunciation due to CMU pronouncing dictionary.
• The plugin can create complex melodies and musical patterns.
• It can also work as a standalone application apart from being a plugin.

The Cons of Chipspeech

• The Text-to-Speech Synthesis might not work for some words due to either misspellings or ambiguity of the language.
• At present, Chipspeech supports only English and Japanese languages.

If you like to try Chipspeech, there’s a free trial option limited to 4 minutes with no save feature.

4. Alter/Ego (Free)

Alter/Ego is simply an extension of Chipspeech with the support of modern singing capabilities.

It is similar to Chipspeech, except it has new voices, effects, and languages.

While Chipspeech came with 12 different yet paid voices, Alter/Ego offers an entire voice bank for free.

The leading voice banks include Marie Ork 2, Alys, and Bones. Each of these voicebanks has distinct features based on their tonality.

Marie Ork 2 consists of voices you usually find in games and movies. It sounds monstrous, and they will be a quick favorite for dead metal enthusiasts.

If you need French-based music, try Alys. Alys is a virtual female singer developed by VoxWave. Alys is flexible in almost all music genres.

Bones is the latest addition to Alter/Ego, predominantly a male virtual singer that can speak in English and Japanese.

The user interface and design of Alter/Ego are similar to Chipspeech. Even setting up the plugin follows the same steps as Chipspeech.

Functions such as Modulation, Mixing, and Control also shape up for effectiveness in this plugin. It allows tweaks and time signature handling, similar to Chipspeech.

Alter/Ego will work on PCs running on both Windows and Mac OS.

As seen in the above image, initially, when you open the plugin, it shows that no voice bank is loaded.

To add a voice bank, go to their website and download one of the zip files. After extracting, drag and drop the .xml file to the plugin.

For this example, I added Marie Ork 2 voicebank to the plugin.

After pulling the .xml file from the extracted folder to the interface, I got the following screen showing it’s “Successfully Installed.”

Similarly, you can download other voicebanks and follow the same steps to get new presets for Alter/Ego.

The Pros of Alter/Ego

• Similar features as Chipspeech.
• It supports English, Japanese, and French languages, while Chipspeech doesn’t have French voices in its plugin.
• It can help in making complex patterns for pop and death metal music.
• Alter/Ego is free, unlike Chipspeech. Hence, no license is required to use Alter/Ego.

The Cons of Alter/Ego

• Faced the same issues as Chipspeech, such as language ambiguity.
• Due to limited voices, there is little variety and ideas to explore. 
• The voices offered for Alter/Ego cannot be used in Chipspeech and vice-versa.

If you’re looking for a free, authentic text-to-speech plugin, Alter/Ego is your safest bet.

You can download Alter/Ego for free from their website.

5. VST Speek (Free)

Are you creating a Lofi beat but want some extra techno sounds? VST Speek is the perfect plugin for you!

It’s not as advanced as other plugins but does the job with effective text-to-speech synthesis.

VST Speek is a free audio plugin developed by Wavosaur, and it uses the C64 engine for synthesis.

Also, it uses the idea of Software Automatic Mouth(SAM) as its base.

You need to type a text, and the plugin will convert it into a robotic voice.

Like any other text-to-speech synthesizer, VST Speek is easy to set up and use.

You can install VST Speek quickly by pasting the .dll file in your DAW’s plugins folder. After a refresh, VST Speek will appear in your DAW’s plugin list, and you can use it from there.

VST Speek plugin allows you to alter pitch and use presets, and it’s even MIDI-supported.

Some of the presets include PoingBoy, Little Old Lady, and Energizer.

The Pros of VST Speek:

• Very easy to use, import, and DAW-compatible.
• MIDI supported. Use the MIDI pitch bend option for tweaking the voice.
• Change the pitch, speed, and throat signatures in one click. 

The Cons of VST Speek:

• It is not extensive or advanced like other text-to-speech plugins. Hence they have limited features.
• Compared to other plugins, the speech output of VST Speek is not that great.
• Can’t perform complex melodies or adjust time signatures.
• The text-to-speech capabilities of the plugin could be of better quality.
• It mainly targeted Lofi music, useless in other genres. 

VST Speek is available for 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows. It isn’t available for the Mac OS as of now.

As for pricing, VST Speek is free to use. You can download the plugin from plugin retailers like Plugin Boutique.

VST Speek can help you with its various presets if you’re looking for decent robotic voices.

Features to Look for in a Text-to-Speech Plugin

When choosing a text-to-speech plugin, it is crucial to consider some important features to ensure you get the best deal.

Voice Library

The first thing to consider when looking for a text-to-speech VST plugin is voice options.

It is ideal for getting a plugin that offers a variety of voices to choose from, such as male, female, and neutral.

Additionally, some plugins offer accents and dialects, which can add more authenticity to the TTS.

Having a range of voices can also help you ensure the tone and style of your project is right.

Customization Options

Look for a text-to-speech plugin with great customization options.

A good plugin should allow you to customize the pitch, tempo, and volume of the voice to your liking.

Also, some plugins let you modify the pronunciation of certain words or phrases.

This is particularly helpful if you are working with technical terms or jargon that the default settings may not recognize or can’t correctly put in speech.

With much customization ability, the speech will be excellent for creating a unique output and improving the overall quality of your project.

Natural-Sounding Output (Voice Quality)

When looking for a text-to-speech VST plugin, ensuring it produces an almost natural-sounding output is crucial.

To achieve this, the plugin should have advanced algorithms that create a voice with inflection and intonation.

Techniques like machine learning and advanced neural networks can help achieve this.

Be sure to listen to samples of output from the plugin before buying it to ensure it meets your requirements.

You also need to consider the quality of the voices. High-quality voices will provide a more natural and convincing speech, so check this before purchasing.

Multilingual Support

If you need to work with multiple languages, it’s crucial to pick a text-to-speech plugin that offers multilingual support.

You should look for one that supports commonly used languages like English, Spanish, French, etc.

It’s also helpful if the plugin supports less common languages such as Arabic, Mandarin, etc.

This could come in handy for international projects or reaching a bigger audience.

Make sure the plugin you choose supports the language you need for your project. The more languages it can handle, the more flexible it will be.

Compatibility with Your DAW

Make sure you choose a text-to-speech plugin compatible with your DAW. Different plugins may need specific software or an operating system.

Do your research and ensure the plugin you choose works with your setup.

Also, some plugins may work better with certain DAWs than others. Try out different options to find the one that is best for you.

You should also make sure your plugin integrates smoothly with your DAW. That way, you can use it without any compatibility issues and with ease.

Customer Support

Before deciding, consider the customer support the plugin’s developers offer.

Pick a plugin from a company that offers excellent customer support, such as tutorials, documentation, and reachable customer service that responds fast.

This will help you make the most of your plugin and tackle any roadblocks while learning the software.

Also, with some plugins, the developers offer a refund option. It’ll be an excellent addition to look for if you want to try out the premium version of a plugin.

Final Thoughts

Have you ever listened to a Daft Punk song and wanted to create a sound that’s both 80s and futuristic?

If you’re making music in genres like House and EDM, you need the right text-to-speech plugin.

Text-to-speech plugins are great tools for music production and sound design.

They can save you time and help you express your creativity in new ways. Also, they make your projects more accessible.

I hope this article has helped you find the perfect text-to-speech plugin for your DAW.

You can comment below if you find other great text-to-speech plugins for DAWs. I’ll test it out, and if it fits in this list, I’ll add them.

You might also like reading,

• Best lo-fi plugins
• Best video player VST plugins for DAWs
• Learn how to build an audio plugin

Frequently Asked Questions

What audio plugins make my voice sound better.

To make your voice sound better, you can use audio plugins like equalizers to adjust the frequency balance, compressors to control dynamics, de-essers to reduce harshness on “s” sounds, reverb to add space and depth, and saturation to add warmth and character. However, the plugins you need will depend on the effect you’re going for and your personal preferences.

How do I get text-to-speech in FL Studio?

For text-to-speech in FL Studio , you can use third-party virtual speech synthesizers like Vocaloid, Alter/Ego, or Image-Line’s stock plugin, Speech Synthesizer. These plugins can convert text into spoken words. To use them, load the plugin, enter the text you want to hear, and press play. You will hear the speech in no time!

Do VST plugins work on all DAWs?

VST plugins are a popular type of audio plugin, and they are compatible with most modern DAWs. However, not all DAWs support a VST plugin format, so it’s essential to check compatibility before you purchase or use any plugins. Some DAWs may support other plugin formats, such as AAX or AU, so double-check their compatibility.

Share Article:

Adarsh Benz Lal

Hi, I'm Adarsh. I'm an audio enthusiast, songwriter, and music producer. I've worked as an audio engineer, editor, and music marketer in professional roles. My educational background is in Electronics and Media. Here, I share my learnings, research, and expertise in audio, acoustics, and music-related areas I interact with daily.

Related Articles

A simple guide to building audio plugins, best lo-fi plugins for music production, best video player vst plugins for daws (free and paid).

VP Kamala Harris denounces Florida's 6-week abortion ban in Jacksonville campaign speech

Hours after Florida enacted a strict six-week abortion ban , Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Jacksonville against it — and against similar efforts across the country to restrict the procedure. 

Harris tied the bans to former President Donald Trump who she said has “bragged” about ending national abortion protections through his appointments of three conservative Supreme Court justices.

“Here's what a second Trump term looks like: more bans, more suffering, less freedom,” Harris said during her campaign speech in Jacksonville Wednesday. “But we are not going to let that happen.”

Harris in Jacksonville: Here's what to know about the vice president's visit

'Cruelty and chaos': On eve of new Florida abortion law, Democrats rally for change

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Her speech against what she called “Trump abortion bans” came as the Southeast grapples with how to provide abortion care not just to Florida residents, but to the surrounding region that had come to rely on the state’s access. 

Democrats nationally and at the state level have pushed the issue as a defining difference between Biden and Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and have repeatedly blamed Trump for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

Trump has changed his public opinion on abortion throughout the years, but he recently said he was the “person proudly responsible” for ending the constitutional right to abortion. In a n April interview with Time Magazine , Trump said he would leave abortion policies up to the states, including if they were to monitor pregnancies or prosecute the people having procedures past when the law permits.

“It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not," Trump said in the Time article. "It’s totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions.”

Harris countered that Trump would sign a national ban if in office and pointed to Biden as the president who would reinstate the protections of Roe v. Wade.

“Donald Trump was the president who took away the protections of Roe,” Harris said. “Joe Biden will be the president who puts the protections of Roe back in place.”

Harris, Florida leaders look to November 

Harris flew at midday into Jacksonville International Airport where Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, who also opposes the new state law, greeted her. They spoke for several minutes on the tarmac before they headed toward the Prime Osborn Convention Center where Harris delivered her speech.

Deegan, state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, and state Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, spoke ahead of Harris and rallied voters to prepare for November — for the presidential election and the voter amendment that could reinstate abortion access in the state. 

Deegan, who has publicly stated she is pro-choice, spoke primarily on the need for privacy. She likened the new law to that of her own medical history with breast cancer and asked the crowd to imagine a reality in which the government dictated to doctors the kind of treatment that would have been available for her. 

“Imagine if the government took away the freedom to determine my own treatment,” Deegan said. “Politicians prescribing what medicine, for how long and at what physical and mental cost.  Think of how much closer we are to that today than we were yesterday because if the government can reach its way into the OB office or a fertility clinic, where I ask you will it stop?”

Davis also referred to her own experience having an ectopic pregnancy that required a medical abortion. She, her husband and her doctor made the decision, she said, and the government should not be involved.

She said women should not feel ashamed for their choices.

"We will not stand here and accept anyone legislating when women do with our bodies," Davis said. "We will not stand here and let them continue to try and control us. I said 'try' because November will change all of it."

Harris said under the Biden administration, the government would “never come between a woman and her doctor.”

“Starting this morning, women in Florida became subject to an abortion ban so extreme it applies before many women even know they're pregnant, which by the way, tells us the extremists who wrote this ban either don't know how a woman's body works or they simply don't care,” Harris said.

In contrast, the head of the Duval County Republican Party, Dean Black, released a statement calling the Biden position “extreme.” 

“Democrats know that the past four years of the Biden Administration have been a failure for Floridians and the American people,” Black said in a statement. “This desperate attempt to rally their base through far-left issues will fail at the ballot box. Now is the time to get involved.”

State of abortion in Florida, greater Southeast region

Florida has acted as an abortion access point in the Southeast since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 as surrounding states quickly limited or outright banned the procedure. 

Over 7,000 people traveled from out-of-state to have an abortion in Florida last year, according to data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration . 

Maintaining that access became uncertain when the Florida Legislature enacted a 15-week ban in 2022. A lawsuit from Planned Parenthood and abortion clinics throughout the state halted the measure until the Florida Supreme Court deemed it legal on April 1 of this year. 

The ruling started the clock for an even more restrictive six-week ban the Legislature passed in 2023. But, the court also approved a ballot amendment going before voters in November that could protect abortion access in the state. 

If passed, the amendment would allow abortions up to fetal viability, usually considered about 24 weeks. The amendment reads: 

“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

Seven other states — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont — have approved ballot amendments in support of abortion, but Florida has a higher hurdle for clearance and needs 60% of the vote to pass. 

Abortion has become a key election point this cycle, and Democrats have emphasized efforts to overturn strict bans and enshrine rights to the procedure in Republican-leaning states.  

Democratic Party chairs from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina rallied in Tallahassee against the bans Tuesday ahead of Harris’ trip. Nikki Fried, the Florida chair, blamed Trump for the state of abortion care in the country and encouraged voters to head to the polls.

“Florida voters are our last line of defense for millions of women across the South,” Nikki Fried said. “Voters can reverse the extreme ban and restore reproductive freedom in November.” 

Group protests Harris’ visit

Conservatives and abortion opponents have applauded Florida’s effort to restrict abortion, some even calling for a complete ban. At least one anti-abortion group protested Harris’ visit.

The Students for Life of America rallied outside a Jacksonville Planned Parenthood Wednesday morning before the speech. 

The two organizers, both 2023 college graduates, said they supported a complete national ban on abortion, without exceptions for rape or incest. 

They moved their protest to the convention center in order to show the “pro-life movement isn’t just drowned out by the Biden administration.” 

“We definitely need to make a stand and speak up for those that can’t speak up for themselves,” Kristen Wayne, a 2023 University of South Florida graduate, said. 

A larger pro-Palestine group also protested Harris' visit, standing outside the convention center. Harris and the Biden administration have faced strong opposition for the handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict from within the Democratic Party.

Sara Mahmoud with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network attended the protest and has organized rallies outside Jacksonville City Hall calling for City Council to sign a ceasefire resolution.

"We know that reproductive justice cannot happen without justice for Palestine," Mahmoud said, pointing to the rise of miscarriages in Gaza since the conflict. "...We will not allow the fight for reproductive justice to be coopted."

Times-Union staff writer David Bauerlein and USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau reporter John Kennedy contributed to this report .

Advertisement

Barron Trump Is Picked to Be Delegate at the Republican Convention

In his most political role to date, Donald J. Trump’s youngest son will serve as a delegate from Florida just a few months after graduating from high school.

• Share full article

By Michael Gold

• May 9, 2024

After years in which his privacy has been fiercely guarded and he has been kept out of the political arena, former President Donald J. Trump’s youngest son, Barron, was chosen to be one of Florida’s delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Barron, who turned 18 earlier this year and will graduate high school this month, will be one of 41 at-large delegates at the party’s national meeting in July, when the G.O.P. is expected to officially nominate his father as the Republican presidential candidate. His selection was reported earlier by NBC News .

The youngest Trump will be joined in the delegation by his two more politically active brothers, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., both of whom have appeared on the campaign trail or done interviews to support their father’s candidacy.

Mr. Trump’s younger daughter, Tiffany, will also be a Florida delegate. Ivanka Trump, his eldest child, was not on the list.

Though politicians’ children often hit the trail to stump alongside their parents, Barron Trump has largely been absent from his father’s campaign this year. It remains to be seen whether he will give a speech at the Republican convention, as his siblings did in 2016 and 2020.

For the past several years, Barron has been attending a private high school in Florida. His graduation, on May 17, became a point of contention in Mr. Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan because it overlaps with the court schedule.

The judge in the case initially delayed a decision on whether court would be in session that day, prompting complaints from Mr. Trump, but he eventually agreed to allow the day off from court .

The Florida party’s list of delegates further demonstrates the extent to which the Trump family and Mr. Trump’s supporters have moved to the center of Republican politics. His daughter-in-law, Lara, who is married to Eric Trump, was made co-chair of the Republican National Committee earlier this year.

The Florida delegation list also includes Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., and Michael Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s husband . Other longtime Trump allies were also chosen, including Isaac Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment chief executive who is a major donor, and the real-estate investor Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend of Mr. Trump.

Michael C. Bender and Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting.

Michael Gold is a political correspondent for The Times covering the campaigns of Donald J. Trump and other candidates in the 2024 presidential elections. More about Michael Gold

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

Presidential Race

At a rally in Wildwood, N.J., former President Donald Trump declared that his campaign would “officially play” in a state he has lost twice by double digits .

Paul Manafort, who was the chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign and also served time in prison, abruptly stepped aside from an unpaid role  advising Republican officials on the nominating convention.

Barron Trump, the former president’s youngest son, will not serve as one of Florida’s delegates  to the Republican National Convention, the office of Melania Trump announced.

Dodging the Question:  Leading Republicans, including several of Trump’s potential running mates, have refused to say flatly that they will accept the outcome of the election .

West Virginia Senate Race:  Gov. Jim Justice’s companies have long had a reputation for not paying their debts. But that may be catching up to them  as Justice campaigns for a seat in the Senate.

Ohio Senate Race:  Bernie Moreno, the Republican challenging Senator Sherrod Brown, tells a riches-to-rags-to-riches tale. But the reality isn’t so tidy .

Maryland Senate Race:  The Democratic Senate primary between Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, and Representative David Trone has grown tighter  as they vie to take on Larry Hogan, the popular former two-term Republican governor.