Jesse Scheckner
Nearly two-thirds of Miami-Dade voters want to see abortion rights enshrined in the Florida Constitution, new polling shows.
Among likely General Election voters in the state’s most populous county, 66% support the passage of Amendment 4, which would restore the right to an abortion up to the point of viability (around 24 weeks of pregnancy).
That’s fourfold the time women in Florida have now. In May, a ban on most abortions after six weeks took effect. That ban, called the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” is among the most restrictive in the country.
Pollsters from Plantation-based MDW Communications surveyed 1,071 Miami-Dade voters Aug. 1-5. The poll, commissioned by political strategist Christian Ulvert’s EDGE Communications, was modeled with a +5 Democratic turnout with the makeup being 38% Democrat, 33% Republican and 29% no-party voters.
It had a 4.6-percentage-point margin of error.
Twenty-two percent of respondents oppose Amendment 4. The remaining 12% say they are undecided on the matter.
The proposed amendment needs 60% support to pass. A May poll by the Florida Chamber of Commerce found roughly 61% of voters in the state back the change. In late July, the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found 69% of 774 likely voters favor the initiative — up from 62% in November.
Amendment 4 states, “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.”
About 6 in 10 Americans now think their state should generally allow someone to have an abortion if they don’t want to get pregnant for any reason, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found last month.
Efforts to ban and protect abortion at the state level have been incessant since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision two years ago to overturn Roe v. Wade. Abortion is now banned at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, in 14 Republican-controlled states.
In three other states, it’s barred after about the first six weeks, before many know they are pregnant. Most Democratic-led states have taken action to protect the procedure and become sanctuaries for out-of-state patients seeking care.
The general unpopularity of banning abortion has even prompted the party that pushed for it for decades to change their messaging on the issue. Last month, the Republican National Committee moved to remove a call for a federal abortion ban from the party platform for the first time in 40 years.
Asked whether he was concerned the change would depress enthusiasm for Donald Trump among core anti-abortion grassroots donors — something the Susan B. Anthony Foundation suggested may happen — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Miami, then considered a top contender for Trump’s running mate, said “not really.”
“I don’t think there’s much of an option here,” he said. “All the Supreme Court ruled was that this was a political issue … that now voters would be able to decide via the people they voted for or voted against at the state level, and that’s the reality.”
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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Republished with permission.
