Florida Supreme Court approves abortion constitutional amendment for November ballot

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the state's voters to approve or reject in November a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights.

The decision is a requirement that the state high court review constitutional amendments placed on the ballots to make sure the description is longer than 75 words and that it pertains to a "single-issue" item.

The more than year-long effort was sparked by the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, as well as efforts by Florida lawmakers to enact 15- and six-week bans on abortions. It started with a coalition of organizations that debated the proposed amendment's language before settling on a straightforward wording.

It then shifted into a massive fundraising and petition drive before nail-biting days ahead of the ruling issued Monday afternoon.

Previous coverage: Activists fundraise for constitutional amendment to restore reproductive rights in Florida

Amendment's backers cheer approval as they turn focus to November

A proponent of the amendment hailed the court's approval.

"Today is a huge step forward in our ongoing fight to safeguard a woman’s right to have an abortion, and to limit government interference in their personal healthcare decisions," said Anna Hochkammer, executive director of Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, in a statement. “The overwhelming response from Floridians from every political affiliation, religion, and walk of life signifies that this issue transcends partisan politics; it’s about healthcare, plain and simple."

Hochkammer added that the focus of the coalition's efforts will now turn to the November vote.

"Now, more than ever, we must double down on our efforts to ensure our message reaches every corner of the state," she said. "Looking ahead, we are confident that when given the chance to vote on this issue, Floridians will prioritize the health and safety of women and girls across Florida.”

Congresswoman Lois Frankel, a West Palm Beach Democrat, said the decision is now in the hands of state voters.

“For women to be in charge of their health, lives, and futures, they must have the freedom to make their own decisions about whether or when to start or grow a family,” said Frankel. “It will now be up to Florida voters to secure this important fundamental right by giving people access to legal abortion.”

Will Florida abortion amendment impact races in the November election?

One question going forward is how the amendment will impact voter turnout and other general election races this year.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in charge of preserving the party's majority in the chamber, immediately said the ballot item would assist the "firing" of Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who is seeking re-election this fall.

DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement that Florida's abortion restrictions "will shine a brighter spotlight on Rick Scott’s long, dangerous record of supporting draconian abortion bans" in the state and across the country.

"In November, Florida voters will stand up for women’s freedom to make their most personal medical decisions by rejecting this abortion ban and firing Rick Scott from the Senate,” Coyle's statement said.

Florida Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell also blasted incumbent Scott after the high court's opinion became public.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to endanger the lives of millions of women in Florida by banning abortion before most women know they’re pregnant is outrageous and dangerous,” said Mucarsel-Powell, a former Miami-Dade area congresswoman, in a statement. “Yet Rick Scott proudly stated he would have signed this ban — a ban with hardly any exceptions — into law if he were governor ... It has never been more important for us to show up this November to put an end to government interference, vote to protect abortion rights in Florida, and stop Rick Scott from passing a national abortion ban.”

Mindy Koch, chair of the Palm Beach Democratic Party, agreed.

"We are looking forward to Florida voters coming out in November in BIG numbers to restore women's rights to reproductive health care," Koch said in a statement. "The abortion initiative coupled with the recreational marijuana initiative puts personal freedom on the ballot in November and Floridians will respond YES overwhelmingly."

Supreme Court approved putting measure on the ballot via a narrow vote

The 4-3 ruling ensures abortion will be on voter’s minds when casting ballots in the 2024 election.

The ballot summary states, "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."

“There is no lack of candor or accuracy: the ballot language plainly informs voters that the material legal effects of the proposed amendment will be that the government will be unable to enact laws that “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict” previability abortions or abortions necessary to protect the mother’s health,” wrote the majority.

Floridians Protecting Freedom began to campaign for the amendment in May after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the six-week ban in an unannounced late-night ceremony in advance of a short-lived presidential campaign.

Before he suspended his presidential campaign, DeSantis chided pro-life supporters for not aggressively challenging abortion-rights initiatives in their states.

Voters in seven states have approved initiatives protecting access to an abortion in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturned 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and enabled states to set their own regulations.

"Animating the majority’s decision today is the constitutional principle that “all political power is inherent in the people," stated a concurring signed by justices Charles Candady and John Couriel. "

"A judge’s obedience to that principle does not signal personal indifference to the objective justice of a proposition."

Planting constitutional time bombs

The ruling also represents a setback for the Republican establishment in advance of the 2024 election.

DeSantis appointed five of the current seven justices on the Florida high court. They rejected Attorney General Ashley Moody's assertion that the failure to define terms such as "viability" and "healthcare provider" in the ballot summary would mislead voters.

It would "hoodwink" voters into inserting unlimited access to abortion into the constitution, Deputy Solicitor General Nathan Forrester told the justices in oral argument this February.

Without definitions, "viability" and "healthcare provider" become “ticking timebombs” in the constitution that proponents could activate “to argue that the amendment has a much broader meaning than voters would ever have thought,” explained Forrester.

The amendment’s backers told the justices they followed guidelines the court had previously laid out for when “viability” is the appropriate term in an abortion initiative.

Justice John Couriel explained to the opponents that even if the proposal came as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” about to attack abortion regulations, then “the question is, is this hiding the ball?”

Courtney Brewer, the lawyer for Floridians Protecting Freedom, told the court the words in question are commonly understood in an abortion context and won't mislead voters.

Chief Justice Carlos Muniz then wondered if Couriel had asked the right question. He asked if the court could decide the legality of the abortion-rights amendment without considering the impact it will have on “the natural persons” provision of the Constitution.

The amendment “kind of assumes that the Constitution as it exists right now is silent as to any rights of the unborn. And I don’t know if that assumption is correct,” Muniz said.

Neither the state nor the other opponents had addressed the issue in their briefs and arguments.

"There is no basis for concluding that the proposed amendment is facially invalid under the United States Constitution.  Accordingly, we approve the proposed amendment for placement on the ballot," ruled the Court.

Floridians Protecting Freedom Backed by the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, philanthropists and retirees raised $15 million to gather 996,512 signatures in fewer than eight months to qualify for Supreme Court review and clearance for the 2024 statewide ballot.

A separate court victory for abortion rights opponents

At the same time, the justices also handed abortion opponents a big victory.

The justices declared that a 15-week ban (HB 5) on abortion imposed in 2022 is constitutional, striking down a decades old privacy amendment that protected abortion in Florida. DeSantis signed it in April at a private late-night ceremony while he prepared a presidential run.

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida had challenged the 15-week ban as a violation of a privacy amendment voters added to the Florida Constitution in 1980.

The move appears to trigger an even stricter 6-week ban, called a "heartbeat law," that was passed by lawmakers in 2023.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Supreme Court OKs abortion amendment for November ballots