What to know about Amendment 4, Florida's abortion amendment on the 2024 election ballot
An abortion rights constitutional amendment is a key issue on the ballot for Florida voters in the 2024 election. Voters in the state are being asked to say "yes" or "no" to Amendment 4, which would eliminate Florida's six-week abortion ban — one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.
Amendment 4 is one of six ballot measures Florida voters are considering.
What is Amendment 4?
Amendment 4 is a proposal to change Florida's constitution. It is titled "Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion" and states "no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider."
The amendment does not affect a current constitutional provision that permits a law requiring parents to be notified before a minor can receive an abortion.
A "yes" vote on the amendment supports adding the right to abortion in Florida's constitution, while a "no" vote opposes changing the constitution and would keep Florida's current six-week abortion ban in place. That ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — before many women know they're pregnant — went into effect in May, nearly two years after U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
In order for Amendment 4 to pass, at least 60% of voters must vote in favor of it.
Polls on Amendment 4
A CBS News/YouGov survey in May found a lot of support in Florida for abortion access. Fifty-six percent of registered voters in the poll believed the state's six-week abortion ban is too strict, while 65% said abortion should be legal in all/most cases.
More recently, a poll released by The Hill and Emerson College Polling early last month found that 55% of likely Florida voters said they would vote "yes" on Amendment 4.
In a New York Times and Siena College poll published earlier this month, 46% of likely voters said they would vote "yes" on the amendment, while 38% said they would vote "no" and 16% said they didn't know or refused to answer.
Who is in favor of Amendment 4 and who is against it?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vocally opposed the amendment and the state Republican party is urging voters to reject it.
Many opponents of Amendment 4 argue that the language of the measure is "too extreme" and vague with its definition of "viability," saying it would allow late-term abortions and endanger pregnant patients.
"The sponsor has gone so far attempting to deceive Floridians as to not post any information on its website on what it means by viability and when the right to abortion, which it is attempting to enshrine in our Constitution, ends," said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. "While I personally would not vote for this initiative no matter what definition of 'viability' it was using, I know that to some voters, it is material to their vote - whether you are talking about an abortion in the first trimester or at the end of the second trimester."
Supporters of the amendment say it would bring back protections lost when Roe v. Wade was overturned. They argue it would help put reproductive healthcare back in the hands of Florida patients and their doctors, saying that politicians should not be allowed to interfere with personal healthcare decisions or prevent medical professionals from treating patients.
Anna Hockhammer, the executive director of the Florida Women's Freedom Coalition, argued that Amendment 4 doesn't infringe on parents' rights and gives more power to parents/legal guardians because it restores the decision-making on reproductive healthcare to the patients, their families and their doctors.
"Amendment 4 does nothing to preclude the state from regulating medical services the way that it does with every other procedure," she said. "You don't go to a dentist to get open heart surgery, and your massage therapist isn't your dermatologist. Nothing in Amendment 4 precludes the state from making sure that competent, trained doctors and other health care professionals are the ones who can provide abortion access."