Florida’s Supreme Court is reviewing a pro-abortion ballot initiative today.
The proposed initiative would amend the state’s constitution to make abortion a right.
If the Court approve the initiatives language, the proposed constitutional amendment will appear on Florida’s ballot in November.
The initiative’s vague language would make it impossible to regulate abortions.
A long-simmering battle over abortion in Florida is ramping-up, with the state’s Supreme Court set to decide whether “The Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion,” a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access in Florida, will appear on state’s ballot in November.
The initiative’s sponsor, a group called Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), started campaigning for state-wide abortion access last May, claiming to give voters “the chance to ensure that their personal medical decisions are theirs and theirs alone to make.”
The proposed amendment reads:
minor has an abortion.
The Florida Division of Elections officially dubbed the initiative Amendment 4 after FPF collected almost 911,000 signatures in support of the proposal — far more than the 891,523 signatures Florida requires to qualify for ballot placement.
“Today marks the official end of the first phase of the campaign — qualifying for ballot placement,” FPA celebrated on January 26th.
Pro-lifers argue the proposed measure’s text will mislead voters at the ballot box.
“Florida’s Supreme Court is tasked with the responsibility of determining whether a ballot measure summary is misleading to voters,” the Daily Citizen’s pro-life expert Nicole Hunt explains, continuing,
The State’s main concern seems to be that Amendment 4 won’t just protect abortion access, as FPF states, but deregulate abortion in Florida all together.
“Undefined terms such as ‘healthcare provider’ (most of them non-medical), ‘health,’ ‘necessary,’ and ‘viability’ mean there will be no regulation of abortion,” Liberty Counsel writes of Amendment 4.
“Lawyers representing the State of Florida and other pro-life organizations contend that, if passed, this amendment would make it unlawful for the State of Florida to regulate abortions due to the vague and undefined terms,” Hunt adds.
The Court appears to be leaning toward approving the initiative, as of 12:00 MST today, after seeming to find the language sufficiently clear.
“It’s pretty obvious that this is an aggressive, comprehensive approach to dealing with this issue,” assessed Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, according to Bloomberg. “The people of Florida aren’t stupid, they can figure out what this says.”
Justice John D. Couriel added, “If I understand [the State’s] position, you’re saying this s a wolf. And a wolf it may be, but it seems our job is to say whether it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Governments’ first and, arguably, most important function is to protect the physical wellbeing of their constituents. This mandate should logically and morally extend to unborn children. Therefore, citizens should oppose laws that absolve governments — and families — of this critical responsibility.
Additional Articles and Resources
Liberty Counsel Oral Arguments Against The Florida Abortion Ballot Initiative
Ohio, the Culture of Death and the Ominous Signs the Worst is Yet to Come
After Ohio Loss, Pro-Life Supporters Must Become Modern Day Prophets
We Need Your Votes! Why Christians Must Vote this November
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