Opponents to Florida abortion ballot measure launch campaign

Opponents of a ballot measure in Florida seeking to enshrine abortion through viability have launched their campaign against the initiative, which they say is deceptive to voters.

The group, Vote No on 4, released its first video taking aim at Amendment 4 in the Sunshine State, which has been viewed as a potential boost for Democrats in November. In the video, the group says that the vagueness of the terms in the amendment opens the door for little to no restrictions on abortion — if passed.

The two-minute video goes line-by-line on the amendment, which would ban restrictions on "abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider." The group takes issue with the lack of clear definitions for "viability," "patient's health," and "healthcare provider."

"This is what Amendment 4’s ballot summary says, but this is what it means: No law shall prohibit any abortion at any time for any reason determined by abortion clinic employees. This amendment makes abortion the only medical procedure your child can undergo without your consent," the narrator in the video says.

"It sounds extreme because it is extreme. No definitions. No doctors. No parental consent. Amendment 4, way too extreme and not what it seems," the video concludes.

Dr. Mary J. O’Sullivan, the president of the group and a professor emerita of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami Medical School, said in a statement that the amendment was "deceptively written" to allow for fewer restrictions on abortion than what is being presented to Florida's voters.

The group opposing Amendment 4 launched its campaign on Monday, nearly three months after the main proponents of the ballot measure started their effort to see the measure passed. The Yes On 4 campaign held its launch in Orlando, Florida, on April 13, and the group says the measure would take abortion decisions away from politicians.

Currently in the Sunshine State, abortion is banned after six weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, or the health of the mother.

Polls conducted before the launch of Vote No on 4 show the measure above the 60% threshold needed to pass in November, but getting to 60% in four months remains a daunting task for any ballot measure.

In 2022, even though all measures reached a majority, none of the three got to the 60% requirement, and therefore, all failed to pass.

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Abortion ballot measures have done well since the overturning of Roe v. Wade with the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, but Florida's higher threshold could prove to be an advantage for opponents of Amendment 4.

In Ohio, another former swing state that has turned politically to the right, the 2023 abortion ballot measure only got to just under 57% approval — where a simple majority was required.