Florida’s abortion amendment appears to fall short as spending intensifies ahead of election
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, appearing with medical doctors, holds a press conference to speak in opposition to Amendment 4. / Credit: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2024 / 14:25 pm (CNA).
Less than a week before Election Day support for Florida’s pro-abortion ballot measure appears to be just short of the requisite 60% it needs to pass, according to the latest polling.
Amendment 4, titled the “Right to Abortion Initiative,” would enshrine the “right” to abortion in the state’s constitution. With a recent poll showing 54% support the measure, 38% oppose it, and 8% remain undecided, the race remains tight, as pro-abortion groups continue to outspend pro-lifers on ad campaigns across the state.
What would Amendment 4 do?
Floridians casting their ballots on Nov. 5 will have the opportunity to vote yes or no on Amendment 4, a measure that would ban restrictions on abortion before fetal viability or when the patient’s health is concerned. Current Florida state law prohibits abortion after six weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape or incest and in cases where termination of the pregnancy is certified by two physicians to be necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert serious physical harm or impairment.
The measure’s language does not define “viability” or what will be considered “necessary to protect the patient’s health.” Rather, both are left to be “determined by the patient’s health care provider.”
The amendment also states that it “does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion” but makes no mention of requiring parental consent. In 2020, the Florida Legislature passed a law requiring parental consent for abortion that legal scholars say could be challenged in court if Amendment 4 passes.
Proponents outspend opponents
As of Monday, the pro-abortion group behind Amendment 4, Floridians Protecting Freedom, has raised nearly $ 110 million in financial backing for the measure, according to the latest financial reporting for the organization.
Conversely, the Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed political action committee Florida Freedom Fund — which has raised the most money of any group opposing the amendment — has brought in only $ 5.2 million.
Florida Voters Against Extremism (FVAE), another group funding efforts against the amendment, has amassed approximately $ 3.5 million as of Sunday.
Catholic dioceses across the state have made some of the largest contributions to FVAE of any group toward fighting the measure, according to the financial data. The Archdiocese of Miami, for example, has contributed nearly $ 400,000 to FVAE, and the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops approximately $ 230,000.
“As Catholics, we believe that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision of society,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami wrote in a column on Amendment 4. “In urging a no vote on Amendment 4, we wish to protect not only the unborn child — the weakest, most innocent and defenseless among us — but we also seek to protect countless women from the harms of abortion.”
Democrats “have outperformed in terms of their ads and the proliferation of what they’ve been trying to accomplish to get people to support this amendment by astronomical numbers,” Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez told CNA.
Nonetheless, Núñez expressed confidence in the state’s grassroots efforts to counter their opposition’s widespread messaging in support of the amendment.
“Even with the outside spending on their side,” she told CNA, Amendment 4 supporters “are opening this up to just such an extreme position that the vast majority of people, even people that are claimed to be pro-choice, don’t want any part of that. And they certainly don’t want to eliminate parents’ rights.”
“It’s been a long haul, of course, trying to educate voters, one voter at a time,” she said, citing efforts sponsored by DeSantis to counter the overwhelming volume of messaging from the amendment’s supporters.
“We are doing everything we can, working with partners that believe in the same principles that we do, that value life in the same way that we do,” she added.
DeSantis’ administration has received heavy criticism after reports that it spent over $ 50 million in taxpayer dollars on ads against both Amendment 3, on the decriminalization of marijuana, and Amendment 4.
The Florida governor, who has been actively campaigning against both issues leading up to Nov. 5, sent cease-and-desist letters to TV stations airing pro-Amendment 4 ads, prompting a First Amendment lawsuit from Floridians Protecting Freedom.
A judge extended the pro-choice group a restraining order against Florida officials attempting to block the ad on Tuesday.
“I always find it curious that the other side is throwing their hands up,” Núñez said. “But we have a duty, and the governor has always taken his responsibility as governor of the state very seriously. He has led on so many issues.”
“What we’re doing is we’re educating voters as to the serious implications of both amendments, 3 and 4,” she continued. “State agencies throughout the state government have always engaged in issue PSAs [public service announcements].” Núñez gave an example of the state Department of Transportation’s utilization of billboard ads to encourage people to drive sober.
“These are all educational components to this issue campaign that they’re referring to as a political misuse of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “We have a responsibility to educate voters, and they need to understand what the ramifications of voting for something like this or Amendment 3 will mean to the state, and it’s going to impact the health and well-being of moms, of young girls, of course, of the unborn.”
‘Far-left organizations’ supporting Amendment 4
Núñez told CNA that “far-left organizations” are behind the effort to enshrine abortion in Florida’s constitution.
“I would say that it’s interesting that these organizations that are radical, far-left organizations that are linked and aligned with George Soros and all the things that he’s trying to permeate throughout the country,” she said.
Planned Parenthood is among the top donors to Floridians Protecting Freedom, according to the Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Earlier this year, Soros contributed $ 60 million to a Democratic super PAC that bankrolls numerous progressive groups — $ 2.5 million of this contribution was funneled to Planned Parenthood.
“I’m curious that they would choose to do these things in our state’s constitution,” she continued. “It really begs the question as to why, and that’s because they don’t want to go through the normal channels of the legislative body.”
Núñez further explained that there is often a misconception among voters that if there’s something in the constitution they don’t like, the state Legislature can simply go in and change it.
“That’s false,” she stated. “Once something’s in our state’s constitution, the only way to change it is to engage in another constitutional amendment.”
“So it’s not that simple,” Núñez added. “And there’s a reason why they’re looking to do it through that mechanism. I think it’s obvious. And so in both cases, 3 and 4, it’s the industry that is looking to further their business and their bottom line.”
“They could care less about the life and health and well-being of Floridians,” she concluded. “All they want to do is grow their business and enrich themselves and their organizations.”
