MIAMI.- A political committee that seeks to guarantee the right to abortion in the Constitution of Florida managed to raise the companies necessary to put their proposal to a vote in November. However, strong opposition is expected from the attorney general and other sectors of the Florida state.
As of Saturday morning, more than 911,000 valid signatures to the Florida Division of Elections, bringing the committee above the minimum required of 891,523. Additionally, the group met the requirement of having support in at least 14 of the state’s 28 congressional districts.
Campaign director Lauren Brenzel expressed her satisfaction with the achievement and stated that Floridians want to decide on access to abortion. “They have signed millions and millions of papers to get this initiative on the ballot,” she said.
Abortion regulations
However, the initiative must still pass the filter of the Florida Supreme Court, which will review its wording on February 7. Five of the court’s seven justices have been appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has pushed for measures to regulate abortion.
In this regard, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and other anti-abortion groups asked the court to reject the proposal, alleging that it is “confusing” and “misleading” to voters.
In essence, the proposal states that “No law may prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the health of the patient.according to the discretion of your doctor.”
Opponents question the use of the term “viability,” which can have different interpretations. Generally, ‘fetal viability’ is considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Defense of the proposal
Regarding the controversy, Brenzel defended the “clarity” and “conciseness of the language” of the initiative, and accused prosecutor Moody of having alleged political motivations.
“We believe Florida voters deserve to vote on this initiative, because Moody is empty and just wants to make a political statement,” he stated.
The initiative arose in May, after Governor DeSantis and Congress, both Republicans, approved a law that could limit abortion to six weeks of gestation.
Still, this law depends on the outcome of litigation over another 2022 law that set the limit at 15 weeks.
Brenzel said that the 15% of the signatures collected for the petition are from registered Republicans and 25% are voters not affiliated with any party.
The proposed constitutional amendment is framed in a national context of disputes over abortion, following the ruling of the United States Supreme Court that revoked the historic Roe v. ruling in 2022. Wade, who recognized the right to abortion. The ruling left the regulation of abortion in the hands of the states.
If the Florida Supreme Court gives the green light to the proposal, an intense and costly electoral campaign between supporters and opponents of abortion is expected.
