Florida abortion rights activists win over Republicans in ballot measure push
Florida abortion rights activists win over Republicans in ballot measure push
PINECREST, Fla. Jaymie Carter is a registered Republican.
She has been named by two Republican governors first Rick Scott, then Ron DeSantis to sit on the Board of Trustees for the State College of Florida, and she says she voted for DeSantis in his 2022 campaign for governor.
But when it comes to the issue of abortion, shes breaking with her party.
Women are concerned about whats happening with our bodies and our right to choose. And theres a lot of people that you wouldnt think would be the pro-choice advocates, but they are, she said. And the government overreach, its huge right now.
Carter is one of more than 150,000 registered Republican voters who have signed a petition in support of a ballot amendment that would bar the state from restricting abortion before viability which is usually at 24 weeks or when necessary to protect the patients health.
That total comes from the Florida Womens Freedom Coalition, one of several groups working to gather the 891,523 signatures necessary to get the measure on the ballot, working with Floridians Protecting Freedom, the campaign leading the ballot initiative. The group says it has gathered and submitted more than 1.3 million signatures so far. The website of the Florida Division of Elections says it has validated 687,699 signatures as of mid-December.