Florida supporters of abortion rights ready to fight back — possibly with ballot referendum

Floridians Protecting Freedom, a group that supports the right to legal abortion, has assembled leaders of kindred organizations in hopes of gathering the nearly 900,000 signatures required for a 2024 ballot measure that would affirm the right to an abortion in the state constitution.

Those joining the effort include Planned Parenthood, the statewide voting rights organization Florida Rising and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“We need to do something to make sure that the right to an abortion is explicitly stated in the constitution,” said Amy Weintraub, reproductive rights program director for Progress Florida.

Other such groups are also re-energizing and increasing their fundraising efforts. Since 1976, the Women’s Emergency Network has been helping individuals pay for abortions in the state of Florida. Except under limited exceptions, abortion procedures are not covered by Medicaid — and the network has helped women cover the costs.

But now, the organization and its members have been re-invigorated, they say. This past week, they held a fundraiser at the Coconut Grove home of a prominent sculptor to raise funds to not only help women pay for abortions in the state, but also to finance their travel to other states where abortion rights are protected.

Jeri Beth Cohen, a former Miami-Dade circuit judge who is part of the Women’s Emergency Network, says there is a renewed determination within the group’s membership to fight for women’s rights. At the Wednesday night fundraiser, the group raised $47,000, which will be matched by the the National Network of Abortion Funds, making a total of $94,000. All told, factoring in matching funds, the effort has raised $173,300 over the past two months, organizers say.

At the fundraiser, ballots were handed out to many of the 100 attendees. They were urged to help collect signatures for the ballot measure.