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Florida Supreme Court allows for ballot language abortion-rights activists fought
Florida Supreme Court allows for ballot language abortion-rights activists foughtTALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Florida Supreme Court rejected a request to strike a financial statement tied to a ballot initiative seeking to expand abortion access on Wednesday, after that statement was revised last month with the help of anti-abortion advocates.
The state Supreme Court's decision came in response to a petition filed by lawyers for the Floridians Protecting Freedom Committee, a group supporting the ballot measure that would overturn the state's six-week abortion ban. The committee argued the revised statement, which will be printed on the ballot next to the initiative known as Amendment 4, was the result of meetings that should have never taken place.
But Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz wrote in the 6-1 ruling that despite the concerns brought by the pro-Amendment 4 group, the campaign still participated in the three state Financial Impact Estimating Conference meetings that took place in July, which effectively invalidated their complaint.
“The petitioners actively participated in the Estimating Conference process that they now challenge, without questioning or objecting to the Conference’s authority to issue a revised financial impact statement on its own initiative,” Muñiz wrote. “For that basic reason, the petitioners waived or forfeited any reasonable claim to extraordinary relief from this Court.”
Financial impact statements rarely see much attention as a ballot initiative moves toward Election Day. But the stakes around Amendment 4 are higher than other measures: It seeks to abolish a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans approved last year.
The state Supreme Court's decision came in response to a petition filed by lawyers for the Floridians Protecting Freedom Committee, a group supporting the ballot measure that would overturn the state's six-week abortion ban. The committee argued the revised statement, which will be printed on the ballot next to the initiative known as Amendment 4, was the result of meetings that should have never taken place.
But Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz wrote in the 6-1 ruling that despite the concerns brought by the pro-Amendment 4 group, the campaign still participated in the three state Financial Impact Estimating Conference meetings that took place in July, which effectively invalidated their complaint.
“The petitioners actively participated in the Estimating Conference process that they now challenge, without questioning or objecting to the Conference’s authority to issue a revised financial impact statement on its own initiative,” Muñiz wrote. “For that basic reason, the petitioners waived or forfeited any reasonable claim to extraordinary relief from this Court.”
Financial impact statements rarely see much attention as a ballot initiative moves toward Election Day. But the stakes around Amendment 4 are higher than other measures: It seeks to abolish a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans approved last year.
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