Florida abortion measure moves big step closer to appearing on the November ballot
TALLAHASSEE -- The right to obtain an abortion in Florida has taken a giant step forward.
The Florida Department of State informed the political committee known as Floridians Protecting Freedom that the organization had secured the requisite amount of valid signatures to put the measure before voters during the fall election.
"The Secretary of State has determined that Floridians Protecting Freedom, Inc., has received the requisite number and distribution of valid signatures to obtain ballot position on Initiative Petition 23-07 for the 2024 General Election," Maria Matthews, director of the state's Division of Elections, wrote to the group in a letter dated Jan. 25.
Florida Supreme Court must still rule on abortion amendment
But the Florida Supreme Court must still weigh in on whether the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment meets judicial muster. The court was scheduled to hear arguments early next month.
If the measure does make it to the ballot, Florida voters will decide if abortion rights will be enshrined in the state's Constitution.
If voters ultimately approve the measure, it will strike down bans on abortion in the the third largest state in the nation.
The proposed constitutional amendment would bar laws that restrict abortion "before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider."
If voters approve the measure, women in Florida will have access to abortion along with the expected influx of other patients who would likely travel from throughout the South to obtain the procedure.
Pro-abortion rights Florida group goes on offense
Floridians Protecting Freedom announced its initiative last spring after the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a law last year that would prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
But that six-week limit is contingent on the outcome of a legal battle about a 15-week abortion limit that DeSantis and lawmakers passed in 2022. The 15-week case also is pending at the Florida Supreme Court.
Floridians Protecting Freedom had to submit at least 891,523 valid petition signatures to the state by Feb. 1 to get on the November 2024 ballot.
The group secured met both of those requirements, which paved the way for it to go before voters.
