FLORIDA – Florida abortion rights groups are pushing back against some wording that is expected to appear on the ballot in November.
On Monday, a state panel revised a financial impact statement that will appear next to the amendment about abortion.
Taylor Aguilera, a speaker from YES on 4, Floridians Protecting Freedom, shared her thoughts on that statement during a virtual campaign update call.
“There is still time to fight this,” Aguilera said. “Our legal team, they are confident that they are going to be able to battle for a fairer statement.”
That call is part of a statewide campaign of organizations working to protect Floridians’ access to abortion and wanting people to vote yes to expand abortion access in the state during the upcoming election.
Since May 1, the state’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect.
The “fairer statement” Aguilera referenced was approved earlier this week by the state panel and is expected to appear next to the amendment about abortion on the November ballot.
One portion reads: “The amendment invalidates laws requiring parental consent before minors undergo abortions.”
Another portion reads: “There is also uncertainty about whether the amendment will require the state to subsidize abortions with public funds. Litigation to resolve those and other uncertainties will result in additional costs to the state government and state courts that will negatively impact the state budget.
Dr. Nancy Staats, the vice president of Jacksonville National Organization for Women or JAX Now, said she doesn’t agree with the statement , calling it misleading and vague.
“Well, so not to be trite about it. But you’ve heard of girl math. This feels a little bit like conservative math here, because what they’re saying is, it’s going to cost the state more to have more abortions performed. And while that may be true, you can’t stop the financial accounting at the moment of birth, right? There will be children who unfortunately have some congenital anomalies,” Staats said. “And so to not count the cost of not having an abortion is, to my mind, it’s not at all realistic or fair.”
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And while groups for abortion rights feel the statement is something that needs to be changed, other groups like First Coast Women’s Services have other thoughts.
They’re a nonpro-choicepro-lifepro-choiceprofit whose mission is to “empower women to make informed choices about their pregnancy and prevent the tragedy of abortion by offering truthful education.”
In a statement, their development director said:
“I think the pro-choice side and the pro-life side should be unified in voting no, on Amendment 4. Because there’s several aspects of this amendment that are problematic. And so this new issue, just compounds, the issue that already does exist, which are getting rid of parent consent, which are allowing abortion up to 24 weeks, where babies are known to feel pain, or they’re known to have a beating heart. Then it allows abortion up to birth, with a health care provider, and the health care provider, that’s, that language is so, so vague. In most amendments, they specify what that means and that the language isn’t clear. So in my mind, this new issue that’s come to light only makes it more clear that both the pro-choice side in the pro-life side should vote no.”
Jennifer Price, Development Director at First Coast Women's Services
Meanwhile, Yes on 4 and other abortion rights groups said before November, they will continue to fight for what they believe in.
On Election Day, 60% of voters would have to vote “yes” to approve the abortion rights amendment.