Vote NO on Amendment
Amendment 4 Resources
Ballot Title: Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion
Ballot Summary: 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.
Why Floridians Should Vote NO on Amendment 4
Amendment 4 would enshrine UNREGULATED ABORTION in our state constitution, making
Florida one of the MOST PRO-ABORTION states in the nation. The amendment language is
MISLEADING, and its proposed outcomes are DANGEROUS
PUTS WOMEN AT RISK: Amendment 4 would jeopardize existing laws and prohibit
new ones that voters on both sides of the abortion issue support, including health
and safety laws that protect women.
ALLOWS SECOND AND THIRD TRIMESTER ABORTIONS: Though not defined in the
amendment, “viability” is defined in Florida law as the stage of development when
the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb (Ch. 390.011(15)), generally
accepted to be 22-24 weeks of pregnancy, or about 6 months.
CREATES A BROAD “HEALTH” LOOPHOLE: “Patient’s health” is not defined in the
amendment, allowing post-viability, extremely late-term abortions for treatable,
temporary health concerns. Emotional health would justify an abortion when a child
could survive outside the womb.
WEAKENS MEDICAL DOCTOR REQUIREMENT: “Healthcare providers” – not just
physicians – could determine if an abortion is “necessary” to protect the mother’s
“health.” Even some employees of abortion clinics, such as nurses and counselors,
could approve late-term abortions.
ELIMINATES PARENTAL CONSENT: While preserving parental notification in our
state constitution (Article X, Section 22), the amendment would invalidate the
current law that requires parental consent for a minor to have an abortion (Ch.
390.01114(5)), making abortion the only medical decision for which parents have no
say.
To learn more about Amendment 4 and find additional resources visit
miamiarch.org and https://flaccb.org/abortion-amendment.