{"id":2210866,"date":"2024-04-01T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T21:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-supreme-court-allows-abortion-rights-amendment-to-appear-on-ballot\/"},"modified":"2024-04-01T17:53:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T21:53:24","slug":"florida-supreme-court-allows-abortion-rights-amendment-to-appear-on-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-supreme-court-allows-abortion-rights-amendment-to-appear-on-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida&#8217;s Highest Court Approves Inclusion of Abortion-Rights Amendment on Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflorida-supreme-court-allows-abortion-rights-amendment-to-appear-on-ballot%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2210866&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u2063 Florida Supreme Court approved an abortion-rights amendment \u2063for the upcoming general election, \u2063a \u2064win for activists. The decision sparked debate over the amendment&#8217;s \u200dlanguage and implications, particularly\u2064 regarding the \u200cterm &#8220;viability.&#8221; Despite criticism, the court deemed the amendment\u200b clear and focused\u2063 on limiting\u200d government interference in abortion. This development \u200bsets the stage for a significant decision in November.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Florida\">Florida<\/a> Supreme Court approved the language of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Florida\">abortion<\/a>-rights amendment slated to be on the ballot for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Florida\">general election<\/a><em> <\/em>this fall, a victory for abortion-rights activists and Democrats, who hope it will provide an advantage to their candidates.<\/p>\n<p>The court split in a 4-3 decision <a href=\"https:\/\/supremecourt.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/2285282\/opinion\/Opinion_SC2023-1392.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"released\">released<\/a> on Monday that found the abortion-rights amendment is clear despite its broad-reaching implications for abortion access.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat the proposed amendment\u2019s principal goal and chief purpose is to limit government interference with abortion is plainly stated in terms that clearly and unambiguously reflect the text of the proposed amendment,\u201d the majority opinion said. \u201cAnd the broad sweep of this proposed amendment is obvious in the language of the summary. Denying this requires a flight from reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The abortion-rights group Floridians Protecting Freedom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2569728\/group-pushes-for-abortion-to-be-on-ballot-in-florida-in-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"began\">began<\/a> organizing efforts in May for an abortion-rights amendment following Gov.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"began\"> Ron DeSantis<\/a>\u2018s (R-FL) signing of a measure establishing a six-week gestational age limit on abortions. <\/p>\n<p>In a case also decided on Monday, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state\u2019s six-week abortion ban, allowing it to take effect in 30 days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the largest single loss of care that we\u2019ve seen since the overturning of <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>, and we can\u2019t fully understand what the impact will be,\u201d said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for FPF. <\/p>\n<p>Brenzel expressed strong hope, though, that the abortion ban would be ruled unconstitutional should the amendment pass in November.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are thrilled that Floridians will have the opportunity to reclaim their bodily autonomy and to gain freedom from this government interference by voting yes on Amendment 4 this November,\u201d Brenzel said. \u201cThis is a historic day in the fight for abortion access in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Amendment criticism<\/h2>\n<p>State Attorney General Ashley Moody <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2437077\/florida-attorney-general-tries-to-block-abortion-rights-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"requested\">requested<\/a> the Florida Supreme Court to review the proposed language in October, saying that the amendment\u2019s use of the word <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2574431\/abortion-rights-groups-debate-language-on-fetal-viability-for-2024-election-cycle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\" viability>\u201cviability\u201d<\/a> may confuse voters because it can have two different meanings in a medical context. <\/p>\n<p>The amendment <a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/initiatives\/initdetail.asp?account=83927&#038;seqnum=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"reads\">says<\/a>: \u201cNo law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient\u2019s health, as determined by the patient\u2019s healthcare provider.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Very early in pregnancy, viability can mean when the risk of miscarriage drastically plummets, typically by 14 weeks gestation. Later in pregnancy, viability refers to when a fetus is likely to survive outside of the mother\u2019s womb, which is typically between 20 and 24 weeks gestation.<\/p>\n<p>Since <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> was decided in 1973, viability in the political and legal context has generally meant fetal survival outside of the womb.<\/p>\n<p>The text of the amendment also addresses that it does not invalidate the state\u2019s existing constitutional provision regarding parental notification of medical procedures for minors. Anti-abortion advocates, however, highlight the difference between parental \u201cnotification\u201d and \u201cconsent\u201d in the context of a minor requesting an abortion.<\/p>\n<p>Although critics of the amendment argued that the measure also violated the state\u2019s single-issue requirement for all constitutional amendments, the court found that the amendment was sufficiently focused on a single issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe singular goal of the proposed amendment here is to limit government interference with the termination of pregnancy. It involves one subject and addresses the related ability of State and local governments to \u2018interfere[]with\u2019 that subject,\u201d the majority opinion said.<\/p>\n<p>When the Supreme Court heard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2842761\/florida-supreme-court-hears-oral-arguments-on-abortion-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"oral arguments\">oral arguments<\/a> in the state\u2019s case against the amendment in January, the petition to get the issue on the ballot had received over 1.5 million citizen signatures, well exceeding the threshold.<\/p>\n<h2>Implications for 2024 general election<\/h2>\n<p>Florida is one of <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/abortion-ballot-amendment-ban-protection-states-2024-052ff9846f8416efb725240af22b92ec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"nine\">nine<\/a> states that are actively weighing abortion-rights amendments, including Arizona and Missouri. Abortion-rights advocates in four other states \u2014 Iowa, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Maine \u2014 are also trying to make a last-minute push to include abortion-rights amendments to their respective ballots in November. <\/p>\n<p>Brenzel told reporters that there is strong Republican and Democratic support for the Florida amendment that \u201cmore closely mirrors\u201d the standard of abortion access prior to the DeSantis administration and the overturning of <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Political science professor Charles Zelden of Nova Southeastern University told Miami news outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.local10.com\/news\/local\/2024\/03\/29\/florida-supreme-court-to-weigh-in-on-abortion-marijuana-ballot-measures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Local 10 \">WPLG <\/a>that he anticipated the amendment would encourage greater participation from voters on both sides of the aisle. Zelden predicted, though, that the amendment would draw more participation from abortion-rights voters.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe one who benefits more is the pro side because those who are likely to vote for these initiatives are more likely to be casual voters,\u201d Zelden said.<\/p>\n<p>Nationally, abortion is the top priority for 1 in 8 voters heading into the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Florida Supreme Court&#8217;s 4-3 decision approved an abortion-rights amendment for the fall election ballot. This win heartened abortion-rights activists and Democrats aiming to support their candidates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2666,"featured_media":2210867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24038502695668-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2210866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24038502695668-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2666"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2210866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2210867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2210866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2210866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2210866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}