Red state Supreme Court orders abortion amendment be placed on ballot in November

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that an abortion amendment can be placed on the ballot in November.

The amendment states that “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,” and was submitted by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF). Republican Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody argued in October 2023 that the amendment’s language did not “satisfy the legal requirements,” but the state’s Supreme Court disagreed, saying that there was no “basis” to conclude that the amendment should not be placed on the ballot.

“We conclude the proposed amendment complies with the single-subject requirement of article XI, section 3 of the Florida constitution, and that the ballot and the summary comply with section 101.161(1), Florida Statutes,” the order reads. “And there is no basis for concluding that the proposed amendment is facially invalid under the United States Constitution. Accordingly, we approve the proposed amendment for placement on the ballot.”

The court also chastised the dissenting justices for arguing that a ballot initiative should have a “warning label” informing voters that the proposal contains controversial language.

“We see no basis in law or common sense to require a ballot summary to announce, as if in a warning label, ‘caution: this amendment contains terms with contestible meanings or applications,’” the majority opinion reads. “Voters can see and decide for themselves how the specificity of the proposal’s terms relates to the proposal’s merits. For reasons that are evident from what we have already said, none of this is convincing.”

The amendment would not change Florida law, which requires minors to notify their parents or guardians before having an abortion, according to the text.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in May 2023 banning abortion at six weeks gestation or after a fetal heartbeat is detected, with limited exceptions of up to 15 weeks in cases of rape, incest, human trafficking or to protect the life of the mother.

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