Florida’s Amendment 4 would effectively restore abortion rights to the same state they were before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
(Gabriela Villamonte via Fresh Take Florida)
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that voter referendums regarding abortion rights and recreational cannabis use may appear on the November ballot in the Sunshine State.
The ballot measures require voter approval by 60% of the electorate to amend the state’s constitution and become law.
Democrats are counting on these measures to boost turnout in November. A spike could greatly impact the election either way, but ever since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, pro-abortion rights candidates and ballot measures have experienced significant voter approval.
Likewise, 24 states have legalized recreational weed. They are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
Abortion rights
The abortion access measure will appear as Amendment 4 on the ballot and read as follows:
“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.”
As written, the amendment would prohibit any law limiting the ability to obtain an abortion before fetal viability – generally between 20 and 25 weeks into a term – which would effectively restore abortion rights to the same state they were before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind the citizen petition effort, in January surpassed the threshold for valid signatures to qualify the measure for the 2024 ballot. The Florida Supreme Court’s role was limited to approving the ballot language.
“We conclude that the proposed amendment before us embraces but one subject – limiting government interference with abortion – and matter directly connected therewith,” reads a majority opinion.
In the closely divided the court where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a majority of members, four justices supported the majority opinion and three dissented.
The decision drew strong opinions from Democratic lawmakers.
