Committee backing Amendment 4 raises $12.7M in a single week for abortion rights initiative

The group backing the Amendment 4 abortion rights initiative just raised $12.7 million in a single week — a record-breaking amount for the group.

The political committee Floridians Protecting Freedom is beefing up its war chest with a pair of multimillion-dollar donations; however, the campaign also received $50 or less from more than 3,500 donors.

That’s according to the latest campaign finance report, covering activity from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4. The Global Impact Social Welfare Fund gave $7.25 million and The Fairness Project donated $5 million. The two Washington, D.C.-area nonprofits both support social causes, including health care-related issues.

The campaign, in the middle of a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, also spent $11.6 million during that same period.

Throughout the campaign, the PC has raised nearly $73 million and spent about $68 million so far — significantly more than opposition groups.

A grassroots citizen’s effort helped get the abortion rights initiative on the Nov. 5 ballot after Florida enacted a six-week abortion ban in May. To pass, Amendment 4 needs at least 60% of the vote, which means the effort will be a challenge.

During the same period, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida Freedom Fund — which is raising money to oppose Amendment 4 and Amendment 3, the latter of which would legalize recreational marijuana — only raised about $200,000. It spent $2.5 million from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 after having raised $6 million in total this year.

Florida Voters Against Extremism, a pro-life group against Amendment 4, also raised about $74,000 from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4. That includes a $62,000 in-kind donation from the Archdiocese of Miami for billboard advertising.

However, DeSantis and conservatives are not playing by traditional rules to oppose the initiatives. They are using the state’s resources in the fight.

A state panel said a lengthy “financial impact statement” must accompany the Amendment 4 ballot language warning about its potential consequences. Those statements are commonplace, but the group backing Amendment 4 says this one contains politically loaded language.

A state website attacks Amendment 4 and warns it is dangerous to women and children.

Election police also knocked on the doors of some people who signed the Amendment 4 petition to question them about whether they submitted fraudulent petitions.

And in the latest episode, the state Health Department sent cease and desist letters to Florida TV stations threatening criminal prosecution if they don’t stop playing Amendment 4 ads. The Federal Communications Commission called the state’s letters “dangerous.”

Meanwhile, the committee backing Amendment 4 has lost in the courts as it tried to challenge some of the state’s actions.

“What couldn’t be more clear is extreme politicians are desperate to stop Amendment 4’s momentum,” said American Civil Liberties Union spokesperson Keisha Mulfort last month. “They know Floridians are against Florida’s cruel and extreme abortion ban, and yet they’re pulling every trick in their playbook.”