New polling suggests a proposed abortion amendment in Florida has majority support, but not enough support to pass in November.
A poll released Friday by The Hill and Emerson College Polling shows that 55 percent of likely Florida voters would vote “yes” on Amendment 4, which would create a constitutional right to abortion throughout pregnancy in the state. Support for the amendment falls short of the 60 percent needed to pass, even when considering the survey’s ±3.4 percent margin of error.
The survey, which was conducted between Sept. 3-5 with 815 likely Florida voters, found that 26 percent plan to vote “no,” and 20 percent are “unsure,” leaving a wide margin for the measure to either pass or fail in November.
Amendment 4 bars the state from restricting abortion before viability (approximately 24 weeks) or later in pregnancy “when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” It 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. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.
Various polling within the past few months has shown the amendment narrowly failing or passing, often with the margin of error (see here, here, here, here, here, and here).
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If Florida voters pass the measure with at least 60 percent support in November, the abortion amendment would undo the state’s six-week limit and basically create a permanent right to abortion in the state that could only be undone with another ballot measure or an uphill legal battle.
The Republican Party of Florida has formally opposed the amendment, arguing that Amendment 4, along with Amendment 3 related to recreational marijuana, are too extreme for the state. Party Chairman Evan Power said:
Floridians are confident that their legislature has been passing laws that reflect the priorities of our state. Amendments 3 and 4 are unnecessary attempts by an increasingly shrinking minority who know the only way to win support for their radical agenda is to confuse and mislead the electorate.
In addition, the Republican Party of Florida supports the legislature’s desire to make school board races partisan, create a constitutional right to hunt and fish, and eliminate the taxpayer burden of public campaign financing.
The Florida Democrats are a dead carcass on the side of the road, but outside dark money groups are looking to promote their far-left ideology by attempting to confuse Florida voters. The Florida GOP stands ready to correct the record and defeat the radical left while enshrining in our Constitution more rights for our citizens.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has also come out against the amendment, saying it “threatens women’s safety.” The AHCA warned that the measure’s vague language could lead to the overturning of at least 20 abortion-related laws, including parental consent, if it is passed.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has also spoken out against the abortion amendment and said it was “written in a way that’s intentionally designed to deceive voters.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.