Since the overturning of Roe V. Wade, we’ve watched states transform into battlegrounds as women fight for safe, legal access to abortion. This month, the state at the center of the post-Roe V. Wade discussion, to no surprise, is Florida. But, unlike many other southern states that have run with the banning of abortion, Florida is allowing their citizens to weigh in on the debate.
On March 25, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution’s privacy protections do not extend to abortion, allowing Florida to ban the medical procedure after just six weeks of pregnancy. However, in a separate decision released at the same time, the justices decided 4-3 to allow the voters of Florida to decide whether or not to expand the state’s access to abortion.
This second decision is a proposed constitutional amendment which, if voted into action, would guarantee the right to abortion before viability, around 24 weeks. This puts abortion directly on the ballot in November.
Refer to the map below to stay informed on abortion access in your state.
The proposed amendment says “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.”
Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis did not find this amendment reasonable. In a statement he released, DeSantis says, “This amendment is misleading and will confuse voters … The language hides the amendment’s true purpose of mandating that abortions be permitted up to the time of birth.”
Unfortunately for him, this ballot measure serves as fuel for the supporters of abortion rights to continue their national fight to preserve access to abortion post-Roe. Now, they will finally be able to directly weigh in on the ballot.
Ballot measures just like this one have already succeeded in the states of Ohio and Michigan and about 10 more are attempting to follow suit. When speaking with Patricia Mazzei from the New York Times, Lauren Brenzel, director for the “Yes on 4” campaign that put forth the ballot measure says, “This is a historic day in the fight for abortion access in Florida … No longer will decisions about abortion be left between politicians disconnected from the realities of everyday Floridians’ lives.”
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