Florida Abortion Amendment 4 is Extreme and Should Be Struck Down

Liberty Counsel and Liberty Counsel Action filed an amicus brief today to the Florida Supreme Court in Floridians Protecting Freedom v. Passidomo, where the abortion group has petitioned to remove a financial impact statement that is set to accompany Florida’s proposed abortion Amendment 4 on the November ballot. Florida’s Amendment 4, which proposes to codify unrestricted abortion in the state’s constitution, is slated to contain a brief, 150-word financial warning about how it will likely cost the state a significant amount of taxpayer dollars.

The brief first argues that the Florida Supreme Court should deny the petition because the Court lacks jurisdiction to render an opinion on the issue because state law grants “exclusive” authority to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference over the financial impact statement process. The brief also makes two additional arguments if the Court exercises jurisdiction over the statement. The brief explains the warning statement should remain on the ballot because it meets all requirements in providing “a clear and accurate representation” of the amendment’s likely fiscal impact. Lastly, and most significantly, the brief states that if the Court exercises jurisdiction, it should “revisit’ its previous decision to approve Amendment 4 and invalidate it because the proposed Amendment violates the single-subject rule and is misleading and deceptive.

The financial statement is “clear and unambiguous” and outlines the potential outcomes of Amendment 4, such as increased taxpayer funding for abortions, decreased live births reducing state growth and revenue, invalidation of health and safety regulations, including licensing requirements, and increased litigation costs to resolve legal uncertainties.

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“The Petition is a transparent attempt to have this Court strike down the revised Financial Impact Statement, which the Sponsor deems a threat to the passage of its proposed amendment. But the Petition suffers from a glaring problem of law: This Court lacks jurisdiction to review the validity of a financial impact statement….” stated Liberty Counsel. “Not only does the Court lack jurisdiction to consider the validity of the Statement, but the [Petitioner’s] tactic also circumvents the established process for addressing such disputes and seeks to undermine the integrity of the Financial Impact Estimating Conference’s role in providing unbiased financial assessments.”

If the Florida Supreme Court reviews the petition, the brief states the Court should correct its mistake.

“In short, the Court should now take the action it should have taken earlier—invalidate Amendment 4—because it fails to comply with the single-subject rule and violates principles of truth in advertising by being misleading and deceptive. The Amendment’s broad and absolute language, ‘no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion,’ violates the constitutional requirement that voter initiatives address only a single subject to avoid voter confusion.”

The petition notwithstanding, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Florida voters will have a chance to reject or ratify Amendment 4, which is titled “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion.” Amending the state’s constitution requires approval by a 60 percent majority.

The full text of the ballot summary reads: “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. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

The “No law shall restrict” language would allow abortion for any reason at any age up to birth, allow abortion to become the only medical procedure minors could get without parental consent, and eliminate health and safety regulations leaving women and girls unprotected. The amendment also provides zero definitions of its key and operative terms, such as “viability,” “health care provider,” and “patient’s health.” The broad language would allow even non-medically trained people to render medical decisions and participate in abortions.

The financial impact statement reads: “The proposed amendment would result in significantly more abortions and fewer live births per year in Florida. The increase in abortions could be even greater if the amendment invalidates laws requiring parental consent before minors undergo abortions and those ensuring only licensed physicians perform abortions. There is also uncertainty about whether the amendment will require the state to subsidize abortions with public funds. Litigation to resolve those and other uncertainties will result in additional costs to the state government and state courts that will negatively impact the state budget. An increase in abortions may negatively affect the growth of state and local revenues over time. Because the fiscal impact of increased abortions on state and local revenues and costs cannot be estimated with precision, the total impact of the proposed amendment is indeterminate.”

Essentially, the financial impact statement gives voters seven key warnings. The amendment may:

• require the state to pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars.
• increase abortions and decrease live births.
• decrease the population and thereby affect school funding.
• eliminate parental consent laws.
• eliminate health and safety laws that require only licensed doctors to perform abortions.
• increase litigation that will cost taxpayer dollars to resolve legal uncertainties.
• significantly reduce the number of people being born thus reducing state growth and revenue over time.

Amendment 4 could also render the following Florida statutes as unconstitutional:

• Every law except for parental notification, including health and safety laws.
• The Parental Consent for Abortion Act, which requires physicians to obtain written consent from a parent before performing an abortion on a minor.
• The physician requirement, which allows only licensed physicians to perform abortions.
• Restrictions on taxpayer funding for abortions, which restricts the use of public funds to subsidize abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical necessity.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver stated, “Amendment 4 is extreme because it will allow abortion for any reason up to birth. Amendment 4 is deceptive, misleading, and extreme. Except for parental notification, Amendment 4 will strike down every abortion law in Florida, including health and safety laws. And it will require taxpayers to fund abortion.”

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