On the abortion front, Florida faces a clash between potential ballot proposals in 2024

[In It to Win It]

On the abortion front, Florida faces a clash between potential ballot proposals in 2024

Last weekend in Miami Beach, organizers behind a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access on next year’s ballot say they’ve gathered more than 420,000 petitions and raised more than $4.7 million in just two months — but opponents are trying to slow their momentum.

While it’s received little media attention, a group called Protect Human Life Florida is working on their own effort to collect signatures for what they are calling the Human Life Protection Amendment, setting up a potential clash on abortion proposals on the November ballot in 2024.

The Protect Human Life constitutional amendment would recognize “the God-given right to life of the preborn individual” and define “preborn individual” as a preborn human person at any stage of development. It also “affirms that life-saving procedures to save the life of the mother shall not be construed as a violation when accompanied by reasonable steps to save the life of the preborn individual.” It would be added to the Declaration of Rights under Article 1 of the Florida Constitution.

“This is an initiative to amend the Florida Constitution to recognize the right to life of the pre-born, who are the most victimized and vulnerable people group in our state,” said Katy Harvey, a volunteer with Protect Human Life Florida, while speaking to the Central Pinellas Republican Club on Thursday afternoon. She described the group as a “grassroots, Christian pro-life” organization.

Harvey said that while her organization celebrated the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court had banned a federal right to abortion last year, anti-abortion activists in Florida have no time to rest because Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law banning abortions in Florida after 15 weeks of pregnancy in 2022.

Abortions have only increased in the past year in Florida, in part because surrounding states have completely banned abortion in the past year. The Florida Legislature also passed a six-week abortion ban this spring, and DeSantis signed it into law. However, the measure is not in effect until the Florida Supreme Court deals with the 15-week ban, with oral arguments coming up this September.

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. No one can legislate

how women feel about Roe being killed. The more they push it the fewer votes they get. Bring it.

[Deuxcents]

2. We've got insurance problems. Water issues. Climate challenges.

By all means, let’s put our efforts into personal decisions that are no one’s business and let our schools go without what they need to educate our kids. I’m sick of their “freedom” that is chocking the rest of us.

[Timeflyer]

3. These forced-birthers are nervous because "Floridians Protecting Freedom" is successfully

collecting petitions to put reproductive freedom in the Florida constitution. The anti-women's reproductive freedom people will stop at nothing to push their agenda. They're so brave when harassing patients outside Planned Parenthood clinics, but they don't dare bother the yahoos celebrating firearms violence at gun shows. Yeah, protect human life--until it leaves a woman's uterus. Then, who cares.