Abortion rights activists in Florida have collected enough signatures for a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, potentially setting the stage for the issue to be front and center for state voters in November
As of Saturday morning, more than 911,000 valid signatures had been submitted to the Florida Division of Elections, nearly 20,000 more than what was required for the proposal to qualify.
Florida currently has a 15-week abortion ban. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a six-week ban into law last year, but both bans have been blocked by courts. The language in the proposed ballot initiative seeks to expand the right to an abortion until viability: “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.” Fetal viability is generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The ballot effort, however, now must get past the Florida Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority — with five of the seven justices appointed by DeSantis. Next month, the court will hear oral arguments in a legal challenge from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who filed a legal brief in October arguing that its language would “mislead voters.”
But the group behind the ballot initiative, Floridians Protecting Freedom, hailed the strong support for the proposal.
“The fact that we only launched our campaign eight months ago and we’ve already reached our petition goal speaks to the unprecedented support and momentum there is to get politicians out of our private lives and health care decisions,” campaign director Lauren Brenzel said in a statement.
Brenzel told The Washington Post that 15% of the petition’s signatures are from registered Republicans and 25% are from voters not affiliated with a party.
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, voters have repeatedly affirmed abortion rights when constitutional amendments were on the ballot — including in conservative states such as Kentucky and Kansas.
Abortion is also a major issue in the 2024 elections. Maryland and New York will have abortion rights amendments on the ballot this year, and more than a dozen other states — including Florida — may follow suit.