Gabrielle Russon
Two months from the November election, the abortion rights ballot initiative campaign is launching a multimillion-dollar statewide ad blitz telling voters that Florida’s current six-week abortion ban is too extreme.
“Before many women know they’re pregnant, before their first appointment, before a doctor can see anything on an ultrasound, this is when government in Florida has banned abortion — an extreme ban with no real exceptions, not for her health, not even for rape,” the 30-second advertisement said. “That’s why Florida must vote ‘yes’ on 4 to stop the dangerous ban, because government will never know better than a woman and her doctor.”
The ads are airing in “the most populated TV markets in the state” as well as on online platforms, the campaign said Tuesday.
Amendment 4 seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. To pass, it needs at least 60% of the vote.
Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind Amendment 4, has raised $48 million and spent $26 million since April 2023. The organization has been fueled by both grassroots support as well as by progressive groups and health care providers like Planned Parenthood.
A pro-life opposition group called the new ads misleading because the state’s six-week abortion ban does allow for exceptions.
For instance, rape, incest and human trafficking victims who got pregnant can get abortions until 15 weeks of pregnancy if they show evidence of the crimes committed against them, such as a police report, restraining order or medical report. Two physicians can also say in writing that an abortion is necessary to save a pregnant woman’s life, another exemption written into state law.
“Yes on 4 has resorted to lies and desperation. Their claim that Florida has no abortion exceptions is a blatant lie,” said Taryn Feske, a former Gov. Ron DeSantis spokesperson now involved with Vote No on 4 Florida.
“The truth about what would happen if Amendment 4 passes is so much worse: It would allow abortion at any time, for almost any reason, open the door for taxpayer-funded abortions, and gives any so-called health care providers, even abortion clinic employees who are not doctors, the ability to approve abortions until birth.”
Amendment 4 faces staunch opposition from the DeSantis administration.
A state government health agency launched a website in opposition to Amendment 4. According to media reports, some Florida residents said election police knocked on their doors to investigate whether petitions they signed to help put the abortion rights on the ballot were fraudulent.
DeSantis said there have been signatures collected on behalf of dead people and signatures that didn’t match their voter registration.
“Our tolerance in the state of Florida for any type of election related fraud is zero. We are not going to put up with it,” DeSantis said Monday.
Democrats accused DeSantis of going on a witch hunt and inappropriately using state taxpayer resources against the ballot initiative.
The abortion rights campaign knows it needs support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass in what’s expected to be a tight election. Campaign leaders have said that Amendment 4 is a health care issue, not a political one.
“The bottom line is, the Florida government is trying to decide what you should do with your body, not you,” said Lauren Brenzel, Campaign Director for the Yes on 4 campaign. “This multi-million dollar paid media campaign will remind Floridians — who supported this amendment across party lines — that the State is meddling with our personal decisions and make clear what is at stake and how the current abortion ban is greatly harming the lives of many Floridians.”
7 comments
John Cunniff
September 10, 2024 at 10:39 am
The goal is not just the repeal of the heartbeat bill (6 week ban). The goal is to repeal every piece of legislation that most Floridians agree with, including parental consent before a minor’s abortion. Notification is not consent and Yes on 4 knows it. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This is Planned Parenthood. Your 15 year old daughter will be having an abortion in 5 minutes. Have a nice day.” Notification is meaningless. That’s why they left it alone in Amendment 4.
ISupportAmendment4
September 10, 2024 at 11:08 am
Wrong…lies!
JD
September 13, 2024 at 7:03 am
Stop repeating the commercials and look stuff up Mr. Cunniff.
The claim you presented about Florida’s proposed Amendment 4 has some key points that can be clarified with facts. Amendment 4 is a ballot initiative designed to limit government interference with abortion in Florida, specifically aiming to repeal the state’s six-week abortion ban. However, the issue of parental consent for minors seeking abortions is more complex.
Florida’s parental consent law was deemed unconstitutional in 1989 under the state’s privacy rights, but a new law reinstating it was passed in 2020. If Amendment 4 passes, the parental consent law could face legal challenges. While the amendment doesn’t explicitly address parental consent, experts suggest it might be challenged on the grounds that it could be seen as a “delay or prohibition” of abortion, which the amendment seeks to prevent. Whether parental consent would be overturned would likely depend on future court decisions.
Regarding parental notification being labeled as “meaningless,” it’s important to clarify that Florida currently requires *consent*, not just notification, for minors seeking abortions. Amendment 4 doesn’t directly aim to repeal this law, but its broader implications could lead to court challenges questioning the validity of the parental consent requirement in the future.
In summary, the future of parental consent in Florida hinges on court interpretations if Amendment 4 passes, but it’s not specifically targeted in the amendment.
Howdy 🤠
September 11, 2024 at 11:43 am
Ist and second trimester government is all they ask. I think
Anyway with all the millions of new multi millionaires from lottery I think they thinking party hardy time
Curtis Mccray
September 11, 2024 at 10:26 pm
Too many adds
Donna
September 13, 2024 at 12:07 am
More lies as the Election gets closer. Their is NO ban on abortion in the state of Florida. Up to 6 weeks is what the state of Florida has decided. How ever if you think you’re going to move from waltz’s state minnesota and come to Florida and carry a baby til the 9th month and let it lie there to die. It’s not going to happen here. So stay in Minnesota! You’re not welcome here. The American people through out the Country are pro life. Not Pro death like the Democrats. Just goes to show the people of our Country Democrats do not care about anyone’s life. The Democrats say “the government shouldn’t have a say what women do to their bodies” but yet they want the entire Country to live in poverty. They want to take us back to the stone ages where we have no gas cars, no cole, absolutely nothing. They want us to be slaves to them and live under One World Order. Kamala has allowed in 20 million illegals through our border and also have flown them in from south America, in hopes they get their Votes. They know we the people will not live through another 4 years of their CORRUPTION.We the people will NEVER SURRENDER
JD
September 13, 2024 at 7:05 am
You want to talk about the will of “We the People”? Let’s get something straight: WE THE PEOPLE will not stand by while unconstitutional laws are passed against our rights, our bodies, and our freedoms! The fight you’re provoking isn’t one-sided. The people of Florida—and across this country—have fought too long and too hard to protect individual freedoms, including reproductive rights, to have them stolen away by extremist agendas. Passing unjust laws under the guise of ‘protection’ doesn’t fool anyone.
Don’t dare twist the truth about a *six-week ban*—a ban so restrictive that it takes away the option before many even know they are pregnant. That’s not protection, that’s control. And WE THE PEOPLE will not accept control over our bodies or our rights.
And to those trying to claim this is about ‘pro-life’—the audacity! The reality is the majority of Americans believe in a woman’s right to choose. Pro-life doesn’t mean stripping away healthcare, access to abortion, or dictating people’s private decisions. Your rhetoric about ‘babies left to die’ is fearmongering of the highest order, based on lies.
WE THE PEOPLE are done with this manipulation. If you want a fight over our constitutional rights, you’re about to get it. We will not bow down to authoritarian tactics, we will not stand by while rights are taken away, and we will not be silenced. WE THE PEOPLE will stand strong and we will fight this tyranny head-on.
Comments are closed.