Florida campaign gathers enough signatures for abortion ballot measure

A Florida campaign to make abortion a constitutional “right” in the state has announced that it has gathered enough signatures to potentially put the measure on the ballot in November.

The Florida Division of Elections has verified over 911,000 signatures, which is more than the 891,500 required by the state to put the ballot measure before voters. The signatures were gathered by Floridians Protecting Freedom, a political committee supported by the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other pro-abortion groups.

The constitutional 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.”

“We know what will happen if reproductive rights make it onto the ballot in 2024 — just like in every other state since Dobbs, Florida voters will choose to keep the government out of their health care decisions,” said Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party.

Though the initial votes have been collected, the measure’s appearance on the November ballot is not yet secured, as it still needs approval from the state Supreme Court. The court is slated to hear arguments on February 7 regarding the ballot measure language.

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The group Florida Voters Against Extremism (FVAE), along with state Attorney General Ashley Moody, has asked the Supreme Court not to accept the measure, because they say that the amendment language is misleading, deceptive, and violates a state requirement that amendments have a single subject. Moody previously filed a brief arguing that the amendment’s language is unclear, particularly because it does not define the terms viability, health, or healthcare provider — a sentiment shared by Aaron DiPietro, political director for Florida Family Action.

“Obviously, a healthcare provider could be an abortion clinic doctor, but it could also be an abortion clinic worker, it could be a foot podiatrist. It could be a physical therapist. It could be a mental health counselor,” DiPietro told the Washington Post. “That’s the broad definition of Florida law of a health-care provider.”

“Whether we’re pro-life or pro-choice individuals talking about this, we need to realize this is an extreme amendment that is uncalled for and completely out of line with the majority views on abortion,” he added.

Abortion in the state is currently legal through 15 weeks of pregnancy. In order for the constitutional amendment to pass in November, it would need to garner 60% of the vote.

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