Court rulings available from Florida state court records

DeSantis Uses State Funds to Oppose Amendment 4, Aims to Uphold Six-Week Abortion Ban

Oct 18, 2024, 01:30 PM

Florida's Amendment 4, a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, seeks to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution, effectively overturning the state's current six-week abortion ban. The amendment has sparked significant controversy, with anti-abortion advocates filing eleventh-hour lawsuits to remove it from the ballot, alleging illegal petition signature collection practices by Floridians Protecting Freedom, detailed in a recently released 350-page report. Governor Ron DeSantis has intensified efforts to defeat the measure by mobilizing state agencies, including the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Department of Health, to campaign against it, drawing criticism for using taxpayer funds. DeSantis has signed legislation to defend parental rights in medical decisions, asserting that Amendment 4 would undermine these rights by allowing minors to receive abortions without parental consent. Opponents claim the amendment would permit late-term abortions up to the moment of birth, while proponents argue that it is necessary to protect reproductive rights and remove government interference from personal medical decisions. Abortion opponents have poured more than $1 million into a last-minute campaign to undermine support for the amendment leading up to the election.