Florida’s conservatives are facing down a November ballot initiative to enshrine essentially unrestricted abortion in the state constitution. The measure, Amendment 4, is backed by a group that has raised almost $40 million, with more than 85 percent of that coming from donations of $50,000 or more.
Amendment 4 would allow abortion on-demand through the 25th week of pregnancy, which is the point of fetal viability outside the womb, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. More importantly, the amendment would allow abortion at any time with a decision by a “healthcare provider” that an abortion is “necessary to protect the patient’s health.” The measure would also eliminate the requirement of parental consent for a minor to have an abortion, but leave in place the requirement that parents be notified of a minor having an abortion.
If Amendment 4 passes, a Planned Parenthood “health care provider” (a term not defined under Florida law) could determine that an abortion is necessary to protect a woman’s health — even a minor’s health, and potentially her “mental health.” The determination could be based on “protecting” the woman from the normal risks of pregnancy and birth, anxiety over having a child, or the risk of post-partum depression.
That same “health care provider” might then perform the abortion, with no limit on how late in the pregnancy the abortion could be performed. And if the woman were a minor, the law would require only that her parents be notified.
A group
