On May 1, Florida enacted one of the strictest abortion bans in the country: the Heartbeat Protection Act. The legislation, upheld by the Florida Supreme Court on April 1, prohibited all elective abortion procedures in the state after the six-week pregnancy mark, with exceptions up to 15 weeks for instances of rape and incest.
On the same day, the court approved an opposing state constitutional referendum to appear on the general election ballot. Appearing as Amendment 4 on the ballot in November, the initiative states that no law can restrict abortion before viability, which most healthcare professionals say is around 24 weeks.
Before being placed on the ballot, initiatives must go through a lengthy process. For Amendment 4, this meant court rulings and months of interest groups canvassing for initial support signatures. The referendum received over 900,000 signatures in support before gaining ballot access.
However, getting to the polls is only half the battle. The initiative must now receive at least 60% voter support in November to become law.
In Alachua County, stakeholders stand divided on the issue.
Pro-Amendment 4
On the front lines of the issue on UF’s campus is Amelia Packham, a 21-year-old political science and women’s studies senior who canvasses for the “Yes on 4” movement with Planned Parenthood Generation Action.
This Fall, Packham plans to spend her time in between classes tabling at the Reitz Union and Turlington Plaza, passing out pledge cards to educate students on Amendment 4. When campaigning, Packham said she emphasizes reproductive freedom isn’t a partisan issue.
“It's not about these pro-life [or] pro-choice arguments,” she said. “It's really to ensure that Floridians, not politicians, are able to decide what's best for their own lives and bodies.”
The six-week ban is “devastating,” Packham said, as it functions as a total abortion ban.
Laura Goodhue, the Executive Director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, agreed.
The Heartbeat Protection Act is too strict, Goodhue said, as most women don’t know they’re pregnant until after the six-week mark. Florida also requires people who want to terminate a pregnancy to have two appointments 24 hours apart before an abortion procedure, which Goodhue said adds further difficulties.
Throughout Florida, Planned Parenthood operates 18 healthcare centers and advocates for full reproductive freedom in the state. Goodhue said she’s witnessed Floridians of all party affiliations want the freedom to make their own reproductive decisions.
The exceptions to abortion restrictions in the event of rape or incest require documentation that can be difficult to acquire, Goodhue said, especially when women can be afraid to report incidents. For healthcare professionals, the time limit on exceptions is not practical for providing timely healthcare, she added.
Current abortion restrictions in Florida have a caveat that abortion is allowed at any stage of a pregnancy if the condition is life-threatening to the mother. This stipulation is vague and nonspecific, said Michelle Quesada, Planned Parenthood’s Vice President of Communications for Southeast and North Florida.
Quesada recalled a patient who was eight weeks pregnant with an intended pregnancy that became no longer viable. The fetus had no more cardiac activity, she said, yet due to the current six-week ban, her OB-GYN was hesitant to perform an abortion.
The patient was referred to Planned Parenthood.
“This patient…walked around with a non-viable pregnancy in her uterus for about a week, at risk for sepsis, at risk for infections, for hemorrhage, for any other health complications, because she could not get the care she needed right away,” Quesada said.
One of the biggest challenges with Amendment 4 remains getting people to the polls, said Shanya Rich, a member of Alachua County’s League of Women Voters.
Recent polls show uncertainty on whether or not the amendment will achieve the 60% needed to pass. In a July poll from the University of North Florida, Amendment 4 was shown to have the most support out of the six on the ballot, with 69% of voters being in favor. But on Sept. 6, a poll from Emerson College showed that about 55% plan to vote yes, with 26% voting no and 20% unsure.
Gaining support for Amendment 4 has been difficult, Rich said, as voters can be swayed through false information spread online. The League advocates for house parties and canvassing efforts that directly talk to voters.
“I think this is a situation where a lot of people end up with misinformation, and so the best way to reach them is face to face and talking to them directly about getting educated,” she said.
Anti-Amendment 4
Not all Floridians are on board with extended abortion protections. Donato Borrillo, a licensed physician and general counsel for the anti-abortion group 40 Days for Life, said the focus should be taken off extending abortion services and instead on intervention so women don’t feel that ending a pregnancy is their only option.
Borrillo emphasized the importance of addressing the underlying issue of why a mother wants an abortion, rather than offering one without asking questions. Women seeking abortions can view their pregnancy as a problem because they don’t have the support they need to carry to term, he said.
“How do you support mom in her time of crisis with her baby?” he said. “You have to address what the real problem is…why is mom there in the first place?”
The focus should be on extending social services for mothers instead of abortion access, Borrillo said. As part of his personal values as a physician, Borrillo said he plans to vote no on Amendment 4.
Richard Sandler, a pediatric physician and professor of pediatrics and mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida, said he worries Amendment 4 is too vague.
Sandler, who co-chairs Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4, said he’s concerned that words like “healthcare provider” and “viability” used in the amendment lack definition. These may open legal loopholes that could cause more harm than good to women, he said.
Sandler aims to combat the amendment by educating fellow physicians and citizens on the dangers of increased abortion access, he said. Sandler believes that drawing attention to the referendum’s language will lead to more votes against the amendment.
“The text is very short,” he said. “It's only 34 words, and there's a number of very important words that are undefined and really raise concerns.”
Zoe Gilsenan, a 21-year-old UF nursing junior, said she’s against Amendment 4 because of her scientific and religious beliefs. Gilsenan said she believes a fetus is alive at six weeks, so its
right to life should be legally protected. Abortion should not be permissible as an elective option or in the event of rape or incest, she said.
Abortions don’t help the mother who was victimized, Gilsenan said, but instead put more power into the hands of perpetrators. Instead, Gilsenan advocates for counseling to help victimized women and criminal punishments for perpetrators of sexual assault.
In the case of an ectopic pregnancy, Gilsenan said a termination of a pregnancy should be permitted to save the mother’s life and is considered outside the realm of an abortion procedure. This November, Gilsenan said she hopes her fellow students vote no on Amendment 4.
“We have the ability to shape a culture that either disrespects and disregards human dignity or upholds it,” she said. “I think abortion is an issue connected to many other issues of human dignity, and I think we should consistently support the value of human life from conception.”
Contact Morgan Vanderlaan at mvanderlaan@alligator.org. Follow her on X @morgvande.
Morgan Vanderlaan is a second year Political Science major and the Fall 2024 Politics Enterprise Reporter. When she's not on the clock she can be found writing, reciting, and watching theatre!
