Abortion supporters, opponents face off at Florida Supreme Court over ballot question

Those on both sides of the abortion debate say they'll be at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee Wednesday morning when justices hear a challenge to a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee a right to the procedure.

Abortion rights supporters see the proposal as the antidote for a Legislature and governor who, through successive legislation, have sought to reduce the amount of time available to seek an abortion from 24 weeks of gestation to six. Opponents argue the proposal could lead to abortion on demand, making it legal for all nine months of gestation.

Oral arguments are set to begin at 9 a.m. before the seven-member court, which will decide whether the amendment’s language is clear, does not mislead, and deals with a single subject — the legal requirements to go before voters.

Advocacy groups like Florida Right to Life and Floridians Protecting Freedom say they will muster supporters outside the courthouse so the justices know they will be watching.

Inside, Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody will be seeking to block it because she said it misleads through failure to define the term “viability.” Proponents counter that the word has a “well-understood, commonly accepted meaning,” or when a fetus “could survive outside the womb.”

Abortion amendment backers spend millions on signature campaign

The proposed ballot summary says: “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.”

Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind the ballot initiative, spent more than $15 million to gather 996,512 signatures of registered voters to qualify for Supreme Court review and clearance to go on the statewide 2024 ballot.

“The abortion industry may have bought their way through the signature gathering process, but no amount of money will make the deceptive language of their measure to comply with Florida law,” said Katy Daniel, a Florida director of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Daniel will join state Reps. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, and Mike Beltran, R-Riverview, at a Students for Life news conference after Moody and other attorneys make their arguments.

Floridians Protecting Freedom also promises to be available outside the Supreme Court after the hearing. In seven months, the group collected nearly a million signatures across 28 congressional districts.

GOP lawmakers, DeSantis back six-week abortion ban

The effort began after the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a law last year that could ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

“Floridians continue to voice their opposition to abortion bans and are determined to reclaim their freedom from extremist policies,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director of Floridians Protecting Freedom. 

Congressional District 14 in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, represented by Democrat Kathy Castor, contributed the most signatures of the state's 28 districts, at 56,000.

That is followed by the Treasure Coast’s 21st District (represented by Republican Brian Mast) with 49,000 signatures, and the 2nd District (represented by Republican Neal Dunn), which includes Tallahassee, providing 47,000.

Four counties contributed more than a third of the total collected. Interest appeared strongest in Broward County, with 99,000 signatures, followed by Hillsborough and Miami-Dade, both at about 80,000 signatures, and Palm Beach County with 76,000.

The proposed language is one of two high-profile abortion cases now before what is considered a conservative court; DeSantis appointed all but two of the seven sitting justices. The governor, during his brief campaign for president, called on the anti-abortion movement to quit being “flat-footed.”

The judges also are weighing a challenge to a 15-week abortion ban, passed in 2022. That will also decide the fate of the six-week ban approved a year later.

More: Florida lawmakers send 15-week abortion ban to Gov. Ron DeSantis

More: Former Florida GOP elected officials support letting voters decide on abortion

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @CallTallahassee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Supreme Court to hear challenge against abortion amendment