If you’re a registered voter in Florida in the 2024 election, you’ll have the opportunity to vote on Florida’s Amendment 4. This was a citizen-initiated amendment, meaning a significant portion of voters from around the state had to sign off supporting it to get it on the ballot. For any amendment on the ballot to pass, it must receive a 60 percent majority vote.
What is Amendment 4?
The official ballot language for Amendment 4 is: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health as determined by the healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.” This is the exact wording you’ll see when you vote, no matter your voting method.
But what does this mean? If passed, Amendment 4 would overturn Florida’s current six-week abortion ban.
Florida’s Current Abortion Legislation
Currently, abortions in Florida are only legal if they occur less than six weeks from the first day of the person’s last menstrual period, a time frame in which many women don’t yet know that they’re pregnant. If a person seeks an abortion within this time frame, they must obtain two separate state-mandated doctor’s appointments at least 24 hours apart, further increasing the time sensitivity of the matter.
The law states exceptions for “rape, incest, or human trafficking,” but only if “the gestational age of the fetus is not more than 15 weeks…” 15 weeks is a largely unrealistic timeline for most women to not only find out they’re pregnant but also to provide legal documentation stating that they were a victim of any of the previous.
Why Abortion Access Matters
Roe v. Wade finalized a decision by the Supreme Court in 1973 that protected the right to an abortion nationally. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the decision of whether or not to restrict abortion access or ban abortion altogether was left up to the individual states. At just six weeks, Florida’s ban is one of the most restrictive, next only to a total ban. If Amendment 4 isn’t passed, Florida will likely begin the process of enacting a total abortion ban, making it illegal in almost all circumstances.
Regardless of your personal opinions on abortion, the reality for many women is that it’s life-threatening not to be able to receive medical care. Even in cases where women don’t want an abortion, it can be a medically necessary and life-saving procedure. Women who have miscarried and require medical attention, classified as abortion, have been turned away from hospitals because it’s illegal to treat them. Mothers such as Amber Nicole Thurman in Georgia (which also has a six-week ban) have even died under the hospital’s care because the procedure needed to save her life was classified as a felony. Her young son is now motherless because of a death that was deemed “preventable” by doctors.
What Does your Vote Mean?
If you choose to vote YES on Amendment 4, you’re voting to restore women’s right to an abortion in the state of Florida. If the majority (60 percent) votes yes, Florida’s current abortion ban will be lifted. In this scenario, there will still be requirements for minors to have parental consent before getting an abortion. For women of 18 years and up, they will have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. No one will be forced to have an abortion if they do not wish to have one. Abortions will only be performed within a medically safe time frame, usually within the first trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, life-saving care for mothers who miscarry will not be restricted.
If you choose to vote NO on Amendment 4, you’re voting to keep the abortion ban in place. The state will also likely continue to restrict abortion access, potentially even banning it entirely.
If you want to learn more, Her Campus has launched the Our Bodies, Our Votes initiative to connect readers with resources about threats to reproductive rights in this upcoming election. You can read personal stories from fellow Her Campus women and a letter from Vice President Harris on the importance of reproductive freedom.
Remember to exercise your right to vote in the upcoming election!
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