Read the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow voters to decide in November whether to make abortion access a guaranteed right under the state constitution. The state’s highest court said the wording in the proposed Amendment 4 is clear and unambiguous enough that Florida voters can decide on abortion access, and potentially thwarting the decisions of lawmakers. who passed abortion restrictions during the 2022 and 2023 sessions.
A separate ruling upheld the state’s current 15-week ban on abortion. The court stated that the right to privacy included in Florida’s constitution does not include abortion. The result: In 30 days, a six-week ban on abortion, known as the Heartbeat Protection Act, will go into effect and remain unless Florida voters approve Amendment 4.
If approved, Amendment 4 would nullify Florida’s current 15-week abortion ban that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in 2022, and block a possible six-week ban that legislators passed last year. A lawsuit before the Florida Supreme Court is pending on whether any abortion ban violates a right to privacy guaranteed under the state constitution.
