Opinion: Ensure abortion access in Florida

[In It to Win It]

Ensure abortion access in Florida

For us Floridians, the effects of Dobbs over this last year have been devastating. Indeed, as recently as one year ago, abortions were legal in Florida until 24 weeks of pregnancy. But on July 1 of last year, the 15-week abortion ban signed by the governor went into effect. This 15-week ban is currently the law in the state and is being challenged in the Florida Supreme Court.And then this past legislative session, Florida lawmakers limited abortion access even more, banning most abortions after just six weeks of pregnancy – before many women even know that they are pregnant. (“Six-weeks pregnant” means six weeks after the first day of a woman’s last period – not six weeks since conception.) The six-week ban is not yet in effect and is dependent upon how the Florida Supreme Court interprets Florida’s right to privacy in the 15-week case. We cannot wait to see what those seven justices decide. The time to act is now. Roe was based on an implicit right to privacy that the U.S. Supreme Court found in the federal Constitution. The Florida state Constitution, in contrast, contains an explicit right to privacy, and the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that this explicit right to privacy includes the right to abortion.

If this isn’t a wake-up call for Floridians, we don’t know what is.

So what can we do? What can all of us do? The best way for us to ensure abortion access in Florida is to add an amendment to the Florida Constitution expressly establishing that in Florida, politicians cannot make decisions that impact our bodies and our families.

Last month, a group was formed to do just that. Called Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group is proposing a constitutional amendment to protect abortion up to the point of viability, as determined by the patient’s health care provider. In order to get the proposed amendment on the 2024 ballot, we need to get about 900,000 registered Florida voters to sign petitions, just to be able to present the constitutional amendment question to the voters. Just since the May launch, over 130,000 Floridians have already signed a petition. Once it gets on the 2024 ballot, the amendment needs to be passed by at least 60% of the voters.

Please help us to get this constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot. Go to floridiansprotectingfreedom.com to download and print a copy of the petition, then sign the petition and send it to: Petition Collection, Post Office Box 4068, Sarasota, FL 34230. And then get everyone you know to do the same! You can also volunteer to help and/or or make a donation at that website. We need all of us to raise our voices.