A constitutional amendment limiting government interference with the practice of abortion will go before state voters this fall as a result of a 4-3 Florida Supreme Court decision approving the measure’s ballot wording.
The state’s high court signed off on the initiative sponsored by the group Floridians Protecting Freedom Inc. on April 1. Supporters of Amendment 4 include certain Republican elected officials, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and some law professors. Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and other groups opposed to abortion argued that the amendment should be rejected.
The text of the ballot summary, which will go before voters on Nov. 5, states, “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.”
The Supreme Court’s split decision clearing the way to put Amendment 4 on the ballot did not address the merits of the measure but reviewed whether it passed legal muster based on Florida laws and the U.S. Constitution. The decision noted that the court had to “act with extreme care, caution and restraint” in examining whether the measure should be removed from a popular vote.
“We conclude that the proposed amendment complies with the single-subject requirement of article XI, section 3 of the Florida Constitution and that the ballot title and summary comply with (Florida law),” the majority opinion states. “And there is no basis for concluding that the proposed amendment is facially invalid under the United States Constitution.”
The Yes on 4 campaign expressed gratitude that Florida voters would have the opportunity to overturn the current six-week abortion ban approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“"This November Floridians will get the chance to pass an initiative to remove politicians from private medical decisions around abortion," Lauren Brenzel, the Yes on 4 campaign director, said in a comment provided to the Florida Record.
State lawmakers have also proposed a ban on all abortions and measures that would put in vitro fertilization at risk, Branzel said.
“The government should not interfere in personal medical decisions that should be between Floridians and their doctors,” she said. “And doctors and nurses should not have to risk criminal prosecution to treat the patient in front of them.”
Justices who dissented from the majority said the ballot summary’s language was vague and misleading to voters as to its potential impacts.
“The title fails to communicate to the voters that the purpose of the proposed amendment is ending (as opposed to “limiting”) legislative and executive action on abortion, while inviting limitless and protracted litigation in the courts because of its use of vague and undefined terms,” Justice Renatha Francis said in her dissent. “Just as it played out on the federal stage for over 50 years, the issue of abortion – far from the people settling the matter – will continue to be decided by each iteration of this court.”