TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Republican attorney general of Florida has urged the state Supreme Court to prevent a proposed amendment on abortion rights from appearing on the ballot. The attorney general argues that proponents of the amendment are engaged in a campaign to protect the procedure and will eventually seek to expand those rights in the future.
However, supporters of the proposed amendment dismiss the attorney general’s claims as politically motivated and argue that her arguments lack legal merit, given the clear and precise language of the proposed measure.
A group known as Floridians Protecting Freedom has gathered nearly 500,000 of the 891,523 voter signatures required by the February 1 deadline to place the proposal on the 2024 ballot. The state Supreme Court would be responsible for ensuring that the ballot language is not misleading and that it pertains to a single subject if it is presented to the voters.
The proposed amendment would permit abortions to remain legal until the fetus reaches viability. However, the attorney general contends that proponents and opponents of abortion rights have different interpretations of what viability means. She further argues that the failure to define terms such as “health” and “health-care provider” could deceive voters and potentially lead to legal questions in the future.
“The ballot summary here is part of a strategic plan to introduce potential issues that will enable abortion proponents to argue for a broader interpretation of the amendment than what voters initially anticipated,” she asserted in a 50-page brief.
The attorney general noted that while previous court decisions have defined viability as the ability of a fetus to survive outside the womb, “others will understand ‘viability’ in the more traditional clinical sense — as referring to a pregnancy that, if not for an abortion or other misfortune, would result in the live birth of a child.”
Proponents of the amendment dispute these statements.
“The proposed amendment is very clear and precise,” stated Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani in a press release. “The term viability is a medical term, and in the context of abortion, it has always referred to the stage of fetal development when the life of a fetus can be sustained outside the womb through standard medical measures.”
The attorney general also argues that language allowing abortions after the point of viability to protect the health of the mother fails to distinguish between physical and mental health. Additionally, she asserts that voters may assume a health-care provider refers to a doctor, although the amendment does not explicitly state so.
Since 1999, Republicans have maintained dominance in Florida’s state politics, controlling the governor’s office and both branches of the Legislature. During this time, the state has consistently imposed limits on abortion rights, such as implementing waiting periods, requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortion, and mandating ultrasounds before the procedure is performed.
A law banning abortion after 15 weeks, which Governor DeSantis approved last year, is currently being challenged in court.
If the courts uphold the law — with DeSantis having appointed five of the Supreme Court’s seven justices — a bill signed by DeSantis this year will ban abortion after six weeks, before many women even realize they are pregnant. DeSantis, who is running for president, has expressed support for a federal abortion ban after 15 weeks.
If the amendment successfully makes it onto the ballot, it will require at least 60% voter approval to become effective.
