Florida Amendment 4, Right to Abortion Initiative Explained (2024)

In this video, we discuss Florida Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, an initiated constitutional amendment that Florida voters will decide on Nov. 5.

A “yes” vote on Amendment 4 supports adding the following language to the Florida Constitution’s Declaration of Rights: “… 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.” Amendment 4 would maintain the current constitutional provision that permits a law requiring parents to be notified before a minor can receive an abortion.

A “no” vote opposes amending the Florida Constitution's Declaration of Rights to provide that the state cannot "... 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."

Let’s take a look at the current status of abortion in Florida:
On April 1, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the constitution's right to privacy does not include the right to abortion, overturning a previous decision by the court in 1989 finding that the privacy clause did include a right to abortion. The ruling allowed the state's 15-week abortion ban, passed by the legislature in 2022, to take effect.

In 2023, the legislature passed another bill, known as the Heartbeat Protection Act, to ban abortion at six weeks, which was contingent on the state supreme court overturning its prior ruling and allowing the 15-week ban to take effect. The six-week ban took effect on May 1. Before 2022, abortions were legal in Florida until 24 weeks.

Floridians Protecting Freedom is leading the campaign in support of this initiative. Other supporters include:
ACLU of Florida
League of Women Voters of Florida
The Fairness Project
Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, and
President Joe Biden

Five committees registered to oppose the initiative. They include:
Florida Voters Against Extremism
Keep Florida Pro Life
Do No Harm Florida
Life First PC, and
Florida Freedom Fund

Campaign finance reports through September 2024 show us that Florida Amendment 4 supporters have raised $63.7 million dollars and Amendment 4 opponents have raised $9.7 million dollars.

As of October 9, 2024, 11 statewide ballot measures related to abortion have been certified in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota for the general election ballot in 2024. This is the most on record for a single year. Keep an eye out for our videos about the measures in each state.

For more information about Florida Amendment 4, including its full text, campaign finance information, and more arguments for and against it, visit us online: https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amend...)

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