The Florida Abortion Amendment: Deceptive & Extreme
The deceptive nature of this amendment and its many loopholes are detailed in a brief filed by Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody with the Florida Supreme court.
Attorney General Moody makes the following points:
“Finally, the ballot summary does not define the term ‘health- care provider’ itself. Voters may assume it means a physician … [b]ut the term could apply to nearly any staff involved in some way in caring for the patient at a medical facility or abortion clinic. A wide range of personnel, perhaps not even medical professionals, could effectively be determining the scope of amendment’s application.” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 6)
“…the ‘healthcare provider may well have license to determine not only whether an abortion is ‘necessary to protect the patient’s health’ but also whether the baby has reached ‘viability.’” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 5-6)
“…the undefined term ‘viability’ has two dominant understandings, one of which would permit abortions much later in the pregnancy than others” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 14)
“…the ballot summary does not explain whether the ‘patient’s health’ (a precondition under the amendment for post- viability abortions) encompasses only physical health or also mental health.” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 5)
“…voters deserve to be made aware of the possibility that the health exception could be made essentially to swallow the rule.” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 5)
“But voters are unlikely…to be aware that healthcare providers could have unreviewable discretion to determine in every case what ‘viability’ means and whether an otherwise healthy baby lives or dies.” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 6)
“The potential misinterpretations of the amendment would allow a healthcare provider to render nearly any abortion restriction a practical nullity.” (See Attorney General’s Initial Brief, p. 15)
Who wrote the EXTREME Florida Abortion Amendment?
The amendment is bankrolled by abortion interests whose views are so extreme that they once lobbied against a Florida Law requiring medical care in the rare instances when a baby is born alive during an abortion procedure.
These extremists have spent over $15 million on out-of-state petition gathering firms to gather signatures in hopes of putting the issue on the ballot.
The amendment they wrote would nullify even modest regulations on the abortion industry that most people support – including laws regarding safe and sanitary practices, the law requiring parental consent for minor children to have an abortion, and laws against late term abortions when babies can feel the pain of the procedure.
The Extreme Florida Abortion Amendment…
Does not require an actual medical doctor to determine if an abortion is necessary to protect the mother’s health or if the fetus is viable, but instead allows any “health care provider” to make these decisions. Under Florida law,“health care providers” is not limited to doctors so even employees of abortion clinics who are not doctors would be able to approve late-term abortions.
While it allows for parental notification, it eliminates the current law that requires parental consent for their minor daughter to have an abortion.
Would allow abortion right up to the moment of birth, including when a baby is capable of feeling pain with no protections for the unborn baby.
