No on 4 starts bus tour to help defeat abortion rights initiative

No on 4

The No on 4 group is hitting on the road.

The opposition group against the upcoming abortion rights initiative is launching a statewide bus tour Wednesday to visit churches and drum up support. The Florida Family Voice Vote No on Amendment 4 Bus Tour starts at Port Saint Lucie and continues through Oct. 17.

“Voice for Life Tour 2024 will focus on the unborn, with the goal of defeating Amendment 4 in the upcoming election — the most pressing threat currently facing the unborn and their mothers in Florida,” the group’s website said.

The schedule is:

— Oct. 2: Grace Immanuel Church in Port Saint Lucie, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

— Oct. 3: South Daytona Christian Center in Daytona, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

— Oct. 8: Smyrna Baptist Church in Pensacola, 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

— Oct. 8: Captain Anderson’s in Panama City, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

— Oct. 9: Celebration Baptist Church in Tallahassee, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

— Oct. 10: Christian Family Chapel in Jacksonville, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

— Oct. 11: Iglesia Cristo Vive in Miami, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

— Oct. 15: Word of Life World Outreach in Ft. Myers, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

— Oct. 16: Nacion De Fe Tampa in Tampa, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

— Oct. 17: First Orlando in Orlando, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

— Oct. 17: Calvary Church in Clearwater, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

People can register to attend a rally on the group’s website.

Pro-life advocates say the Amendment 4 ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution was written vaguely and will deregulate the abortion industry.

“Amendment 4 consists of just 39 words, yet it poses significant risks to the safety and rights of Floridians,” the group said in a press release. “This amendment fails to define critical terms such as ‘viability,’ ‘health care provider,’ and ‘patient’s health.’ The lack of clarity creates loopholes and allows late-term abortions — far beyond when science confirms that a baby can feel pain.”

However, abortion advocates argue the ballot initiative is clear and uses the term “viability” — which is a medical term and defined in state law already. Viability, the period when an unborn child can survive outside the womb, is considered to be about 24 weeks.

Amendment 4 says, “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.”

No on 4 also claims the proposed constitutional change “would uniquely allow minors to undergo abortions without parental consent, making it the only medical procedure exempt from this critical safeguard in Florida,” the group said in a press release.

The Amendment 4 campaign says that is not true.

The ballot wording adds, “This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

The political committee Floridians Protecting Freedom, which led the citizen’s effort to get the issue on the ballot, argues Florida’s six-week abortion ban is a near total abortion ban. Victims of rape and incest can get abortions up to 15 weeks if they get documentation providing of crimes against them, like a police report or medical report. Critics say that’s an unnecessary hoop for already victimized women to jump through.