Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Floridians about the abortion amendment that will be on the ballot this fall, laying out some of the consequences of the amendment if it is approved by the voters.
The Florida Supreme Court agreed earlier this year that Florida voters can take the issue of abortion into their own hands in November and cast a vote on Amendment 4. A summary of Amendment 4 reads, “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.”
In other words, the state would be unable to restrict abortion before the 24-week mark.
Groups including Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida support the measure.
While the advocates of the amendment claim that the amendment “does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion,” DeSantis said that is not the case.
“A couple things. One, what does the amendment do? Well, it completely eliminates not just the heartbeat Protection Act, but also the 15-week protections, and even it eliminates parental consent for minors with respect to abortion,” DeSantis said.
“That’s something that is in our statutes. It’s something that’s very common sense. This would eliminate that, and abortion would be the one thing that a minor could go behind their parents’ back and do without consent,” he continued.
Previously, DeSantis warned that the law is “written in a way that’s intentionally designed to deceive voters.” While the amendment claims it would not change the parental notification requirement, WLRN explained that “DeSantis’ warning is based on a prediction about what could happen to the parental consent law through legal challenges.”
The outlet said:
That’s because the amendment stipulates that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.” Legal experts say this wording could lead advocates to challenge a 2020 state law that requires written parental consent before a minor undergoes an abortion.
“Everything else in medical would require parental consent. They’re taking this out, so it does eliminate an important parental right,” DeSantis continued, adding that the amendment would guarantee abortion “all the way till the moment of birth.”
“And it’s written in a way to try to massage that. But basically, if you have a quote ‘health care provider’ [who] says that there should be an abortion, then you can do it. It doesn’t even require a physician,” he said.
Indeed, the amendment is written in a way that allows a “healthcare provider” — not necessarily a doctor — to determine that ending the life of an unborn child is “necessary to protect the patient’s health,” opening the door for late-term abortion as determined by this “healthcare provider.”
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Amendment 4 must reach the 60-percent threshold to pass.
DeSantis’s warning follows President Joe Biden failing to name the abortion restrictions he supports when asked during Thursday’s presidential debate.
RELATED — Biden Fumbles His Way Through Abortion Question on Historic Debate Night Against Trump
At least 11 states have launched efforts to place abortion on the ballot in November, as detailed by Breitbart News.