Abortion Protest at Supreme Court – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Wild 2 Free
Following Governor Ron DeSantis’ signing of legislation prohibiting most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a coalition is organizing a push to get the issue of abortion on Florida’s 2024 ballot.
Floridians Protecting Freedom is a group that is proposing a constitutional amendment to safeguard a woman’s right to have an abortion up to the time when the fetus may survive outside the womb.
“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,” the proposed language reads. Viability is usually at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The alliance, which includes the ACLU of Florida, Florida Rising, Florida Planned Parenthood chapters, and Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida, is asking for voter support. They point out that polls show that the majority of Floridians support safe and legal abortion access.
“This campaign will ensure that Floridians are able to make these personal medical decisions themselves without government interference,” said Kara Gross, the legislative director at the ACLU of Florida.
The state Supreme Court has already ruled that the right to privacy in Florida’s constitution guarantees abortion access. However, as part of ongoing litigation over Florida’s current 15-week abortion ban, the DeSantis administration is contesting that precedent. (Florida’s new six-week abortion law will take effect only if the state receives a favorable ruling in that case.)
Gross stated that the group is pushing for the ballot in 2024 rather than a later election date because Florida’s present abortion ban is already harming people’s rights.
To get on the ballot, the group will need to collect approximately 892,000 petitions, representing at least half of Florida’s congressional districts – which means the petitions cannot all come from concentrated Democratic areas. The proposed constitutional amendment’s language must also be reviewed by a judge to ensure that it covers only one topic and does not mislead voters. The Florida Supreme Court has previously rejected language-related ballot initiatives.
Once on the ballot, the amendment must be approved by 60 percent of voters.
Gross stated that it will be a “multimillion-dollar campaign,” with an “aggressive” fundraising push already underway. She stated that the text of the amendment they worked on is “so simple and clear” that courts would have a tough time finding fault with it.
Shelly Tien, an abortion practitioner, told a news conference on Monday about patients in Florida who had to fly out of state for care or who had dangerous outcomes because they were denied care under the current 15-week ban.
“Everyone should have the fundamental right to make these personal medical decisions that permanently impact the arc of their lives, with the support of their loved ones and within the privacy of the physician-patient relationship,” Tien said.
Left-wing Florida groups have utilized ballot initiatives to pass policies that could have been defeated by the Republican-dominated Legislature. Ballot initiatives were used to enact Florida’s $15 minimum wage law and the restoration of voting rights for those with certain felony convictions.
However, lawmakers have made it more difficult for measures to pass in recent years. For example, legislators modified the law so that petition gatherers are no longer compensated based on the amount of signatures they collect, but must instead be paid hourly or daily. Petitioners must also register with the state.
Stories that matter are our priority. At Florida Insider, we make sure that the information we provide our readers is accurate, easy-to-read, and informative. Whether you are interested in business, education, government, history, sports, real estate, nature or travel: we have something for everyone. Follow along for the best stories in the Sunshine State.
Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
