Abortion is on the ballot in Florida this November, and if voters codify the right to kill an unborn child into the state constitution, it would have far-reaching implications across the southeastern United States.
Because all other surrounding states restrict abortions at some point in the first trimester, Florida is likely to be the region's destination state for abortions, followed by Virginia as the closest option. . measures called Amendment No. 4essentially enshrines the right to an abortion in the state's constitution, allowing women from neighboring states with stricter restrictions to travel to obtain abortions later in pregnancy.
Currently, Florida and all other neighboring southern states are limit Completely restrict abortions with limited exceptions, such as abortions at six weeks or, in North Carolina, abortions at 12 weeks. But of the 10 states with abortion on the ballot, the Sunshine State is the only one in the Southeast that will have the opportunity to vote on an abortion-related constitutional amendment this election cycle.
This means that while laws in states like Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi will continue to restrict abortion for the foreseeable future, Florida's This means that it could become a central location and abortions would be allowed. The number of fetuses being aborted up to 24 weeks of gestation (considered viable) and up to the third trimester “if necessary to protect the health of the patient, in the judgment of the patient's health care provider.”
Florida most recently served as an abortion receiving state until the six-week restriction went into effect on May 1, 2024. The six-week limit was challenged in court, while the state's 15-week limit passed in 2022 was challenged in court. filed a lawsuit. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the 15-week limit, paving the way for the six-week limit signed by DeSantis to take effect in April 2023.
Although Florida's 15-week limit became law in 2023 and part of 2024, and surrounding states had narrower limits, the number of abortions for women from out of state has increased in just a few years. The number of cases has increased by several thousand, state data shows. local pregnancy clinic CPCI, Florida's largest pro-life crisis pregnancy clinic system, warned last year that Florida was becoming an “abortion destination,” and the state has a 15-week limit. pay attention 90% of all abortions occur in the first trimester.
Read more: Exclusive — Pro-life groups warn: Florida is becoming a 'destination state for abortion'
in 2023More than 84,000 women had abortions in Florida, more than most states. Of those women, 7,736 reported coming from outside the state, up from 6,726 in the state. 20224,873 inches 20213,988 inches 2020, According to data from the Health Care Administration Agency (AHCA).
Pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute released Data at the time showed that one in three abortions in the South and one in 12 nationwide occurred in Florida. Guttmacher also reported that Florida has an even higher number of women coming from out of state for abortions, more than 9,000.
AHCA data 2024 Year-to-date and with only a few months left in the year, indications are that out-of-state abortions and abortions overall may be on the decline. The state has recorded a total of 50,224 abortions, including 3,403 abortions among women who came from outside the state.
Guttmacher is Estimation Abortions in Florida were down at least 30 percent compared to the January-March average in May 2024, when the six-week limit went into effect, and 35 percent by June.
Read more: These 10 states will put abortion on the ballot in November
The proposed abortion amendment is supported by Floridians Defending Freedom. union Left-wing organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida.
If Florida voters pass Amendment 4 with at least 60 percent support in November, the Abortion Amendment would rescind the state's six-week limit and essentially create a permanent ban on abortion in the state. It would create a right that could only be revoked by another ballot measure or legally difficult legislation. fight. Additionally, this abortion measure basically allows abortion during pregnancy under certain conditions.
Amendment No. 4 The state prohibits restricting abortions before viability, after approximately 24 weeks of pregnancy, or beyond “based on the judgment of the patient's health care provider.”
It is written like this.
No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or if necessary to protect the health of the patient in the judgment of the patient's health care provider. This amendment does not change Congress' constitutional authority to require parents or guardians to be notified before a minor obtains an abortion.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) opposes this amendment. I'm saying It “threats women's safety.” AHCA warned that the bill's vague language could overturn at least 20 abortion-related laws, including parental consent, if passed.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) also opposes the abortion amendment. said It is “written in a manner deliberately designed to deceive voters.”
Various opinion polls within the past few months have shown that this amendment has been defeated or passed by narrow margins, often within the margin of error ( here , here , here , here , here , here , here , here ). In a recent opinion poll, new york times And Siena College introduced an abortion bill that received just 46% support, far below the support needed for passage.
Voting measures are particularly effective as attack vectors because they are essentially irreversible. Ballot measures change the state constitution, override laws passed by the state Legislature, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure or a lengthy legal battle. Supporters of this measure are typically well-funded left-wing organizations and affiliates such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, out-of-state underground finance groups, billionaires with eugenicist leanings, and often pro-life groups. This exceeds expenditures by two or three times. .
Every pro-abortion ballot measure since fall 2019 egg It was successful. During the 2022 special election, Kansas rejected a ballot measure that would have excluded abortion rights from the state constitution. During the 2022 midterm elections, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont codified abortion into their constitutions. At the same time, voters in Montana rejected a ballot measure that would have given rights to babies born alive after botched abortions. Kentucky voters also rejected an amendment similar to Kansas'. Last November, Ohioans also voted to codify the right to abortion into the state constitution.
of new york times He pointed out that none of these abortion measures had approval ratings above 60% in any state. The state with the highest total approval rating was Kansas in 2022, with an approval rating of 58.97 percent.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her at @thekat_Hamilton.
