An extremely grave threat to the Right-to-Life has been placed on Florida’s November 2024 ballot. Amendment 4 seeks to erase Florida’s existing pro-life protections by inserting language into the Florida Constitution prohibiting regulation of abortion. The amendment
would allow late-term abortions, including when the baby is capable of feeling pain, and would eliminate laws requiring parental consent and safety protocols for women.
Amendment 4 pretends to “just bring things back to how they were with Roe vs. Wade” – but it actually goes much further – allowing for abortion throughout all 9 months of pregnancy with no protections for the unborn baby.
Pro-life conservatives of all faiths are working hard to oppose this dangerous and deceptive amendment, get the truth out about what it really means, and urge all Floridians to vote "NO" on Amendment 4.
The title of the amendment is deceptively simple: Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion
And it purports to enshrine in the Florida Constitution a prohibition on legislation putting ANY limits on the “right” to kill an unborn child: 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.
As written Amendment 4 would jeopardize existing laws and prohibit new ones that voters on both sides of the abortion issue support, including health and safety laws that protect women, e.g. the medical setting in which the procedure is performed.
Unlike other Amendments, Amendment 4 provides ZERO definitions of key words like “government interference”, “viability”, “health care provider”, “patient’s health” – so voters won’t even know what they’re voting on. This creates huge loopholes that will result in years of litigation and legal uncertainty.
Among the many drafting defects of the proposed amendment, most notable is its failure to define “viability.” Though not defined in the amendment, “viability” is defined in Florida law as the stage of development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb (Ch. 390.011(15)), generally accepted to be 22-24 weeks of pregnancy, or about 6 months. There is nothing in the amendment that preserves this language and every reason to believe that the amendment would subvert the application of this definition of “viability.”
Likewise, “patient’s health” is not defined in the amendment, allowing post-viability, extremely late-term abortions for treatable, temporary health concerns. “Emotional health” would justify an abortion when a child could survive outside the womb, right up until the moment of birth.
Perhaps an even greater threat to the health of women, is that the amendment would mandate that “healthcare providers” – not just physicians – could determine if an abortion is “necessary” to protect the mother’s “health.” Even some employees of abortion clinics, such as nurses and counselors, could approve late-term abortions.
This means Amendment 4 gives abortion clinics a rubber stamp to approve late-term, third trimester abortions. That’s because Amendment 4’s “Health Care Provider(s)” aren’t just doctors but could be any one of dozens of health-intersecting occupations licensed by the state. Even abortion clinic staffers who aren’t doctors would have the authority to decide if the fetus is viable or if a health concern or complaint was significant enough to approve a full-term abortion.
Finally, while preserving parental notification in the Florida state constitution (Article X, Section 22), the amendment would invalidate the current law that requires parental consent for a minor to have an abortion (Ch. 390.01114(5)), making abortion the only medical decision for which parents have no say.
Amendment 4 repeals all Florida laws that even inconvenience an abortion, even common-sense laws that most people on both sides of the issue support, like parental consent for minors seeking an abortion, informed consent, and laws that protect the safety of women.
As Florida’s Conference of Catholic Bishops put it in their statement of opposition to Amendment 4, “Amendment 4 would enshrine UNREGULATED ABORTION in our state constitution, making Florida one of the MOST PRO-ABORTION states in the nation. The amendment language is MISLEADING, and its proposed outcomes are DANGEROUS.”
For an excellent list of frequently asked questions about Amendment 4 and their answers provided by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops click here.
To obtain a full “Vote NO on 4” tool kit click here.
We urge all CHQ readers and friends to get involved in this battle, even if you don’t live in Florida. The moral cancer that this Amendment represents is spreading across our country, fueled by the greed of abortionists, the desire of sex traffickers and abusers of young girls to hide their crimes, and the perverse political goals of those who wish to undermine the traditional nuclear family. It will come to your state and community if not stopped here.
Go to https://votenoon4florida.com/get-involved/ to get involved in this fundamental moral battle and post this message on social media and forward today’s email to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow churchgoers, and others, so that they can help defeat this depraved assault on America’s women and unborn children.
2024 Election
Democrat contributions
Kamalanomics
25th Amendment
Stock Market Crash
recession
Kamala Harris campaign
Tim Walz vice president
Florida Amendment 4
abortion legality
State regulation of abortion
Comments