Author: Rob Karrer, President
The future of Florida’s pro-abortion referendum to be decided by court
The Florida State Supreme Court will decide before April 1 whether or not a pro-abortion constitutional amendment referendum will be rejected or placed on the November, 2024 ballot.
The back story:
In 2023, pro-abortion groups launched a petition drive to place before the voters a referendum that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida state constitution. After the required number of signatures were submitted, State officials have attempted to either slow the process or stop it completely.
In early February, the Florida Supreme Court heard arguments to either reject or approve the wording of the ballot measure. The state’s Attorney General, a strong pro-life advocate, argued that the referendum’s wording is misleading and deceptive, and violates the state Constitution that requires a single-subject requirement.
The language would “completely deregulate abortion and disempower the three branches of government from any discretionary power to protect Florida citizens regarding abortion. Currently, the legislative branch is authorized to prohibit abortion through legislation, the executive branch is authorized to penalize citizens who violate abortion laws, and the judicial branch is authorized to delay or restrict any illegal or unconstitutional conduct. Lumping functional alterations to each branch of government in one amendment violates the single-subject requirement.”
Although this scenario is reminiscent of Michigan’s Proposal 3 and Ohio’s Issue 1…where pro-lifers were defeated, the situation in Florida is uniquely different.
By state law, a referendum that seeks to amend the state constitution MUST garner at least 60 percent of the vote. Reaching that high a vote threshold will be difficult. Even in Michigan and Ohio, where the ballot initiatives passed handily, voters approved them by about 57 percent. Florida’s demographics make it more friendly to pro-life measures. The large population of descendants of Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants in Miami and Orlando are heavily Catholic, politically conservative, and generally pro-life.
(scroll down to see download button)