{"id":309699,"date":"2024-04-04T06:37:25","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T11:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=309699"},"modified":"2024-04-02T20:40:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T01:40:08","slug":"three-dissenting-justices-florida-ballot-misleads-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/three-dissenting-justices-florida-ballot-misleads-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"Three dissenting justices on Florida Supreme Court: Ballot language ‘misleads’ voters"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Liberty Counsel<\/a>) While the Florida Supreme Court <\/span>ruled<\/a> 4-3 that a deceptive proposal to codify unrestricted abortion in the state constitution could go before voters this November, three justices got it right in their dissents. They correctly argued that the proposed amendment \u201cmisleads\u201d voters and \u201cfails\u201d to convey the far-reaching legal consequences if voted into law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Justices Renatha Francis, Jamie Grosshans, and Meredith Sasso, the three women on the Court, all dissented from the majority opinion. The three dissenting justices said the language was defective in several major areas:<\/p>\n

1. The amendment \u201cmisleads\u201d voters by \u201cending (as opposed to \u2018limiting\u2019) legislative and executive action on abortion.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Justice Francis argued the proposed amendment \u201chides the ball\u201d as to its future legal ramifications. She stated the potential effects of the amendment were \u201cfourfold\u201d in that it would repeal all \u201cmeaningful abortion laws,\u201d eliminate any legislative actions to protect babies before viability, subject any laws regarding post-viability abortions to a \u201chealth care provider\u2019s veto,\u201d and would \u201credefine abortion as a health issue in Florida without saying so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs written, the title and the ballot summary (which parrots the amendment) fail to give the voters what they need to make an\u00a0informed decision; thus, both violate the truth-in-packaging law,\u201d wrote Justice Francis.<\/p>\n

Justice Grosshans also noted the proposal \u201cmisleads by omission\u201d and \u201cfails to convey the breadth of what the amendment actually accomplishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026this amendment returns abortion issues back to the courts to interpret scope, boundary, definitions, and policy, effectively removing it from the people and their elected representatives,\u201d wrote Justice Grosshans. She further noted \u201cthe voters are owed candor and accuracy\u201d and it was the \u201csponsor\u2019s duty to advise the voter\u201d on the amendment\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n

2. The \u201cambiguous\u201d and \u201cundefined terms\u201d have no shared meaning setting the stage for protracted litigation.<\/b><\/p>\n

Justice Sasso stated the amendment\u2019s language included numerous \u201cundefined terms,\u201d such as \u201cviability,\u201d \u201chealth care provider,\u201d and \u201cpatient\u2019s health.\u201d While the amendment\u2019s sponsor argues the terms are \u201cclear and obvious,\u201d Justice Sasso disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sponsor is just plain wrong. None of those terms have any sort of widely shared meaning\u2026,\u201d wrote Justice Sasso. \u201cSimilarly, I find it highly unlikely that voters will understand the true ramifications of this amendment\u2014that they will read the ballot summary and vote based on an informed understanding and acceptance of the uncertainties posed by its vague and ambiguous language.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice Grosshans stated that placing such \u201cbroad\u201d and \u201cundefined terms\u201d in the state constitution would lead to \u201cdecades of litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. The amendment ignores personhood and poses a \u201cdevastating infringement\u201d on a person\u2019s right to live.<\/b><\/p>\n

Justices Francis and Grosshans both noted that the proposed amendment would likely impact the definition of personhood in the state constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exercise of a \u2018right\u2019 to an abortion literally results in a devastating infringement on the right of another person: the right to live. And our Florida Constitution recognizes that \u2018life\u2019 is a \u2018basic right\u2019 for [a]ll natural persons.\u2019 One must recognize the unborn\u2019s competing right to life and the State\u2019s moral duty to protect that life,\u201d stated Justice Francis. \u201cInstead, [this amendment] is a Trojan horse for the elimination of any recognition of the State\u2019s interest in protecting what\u00a0Roe<\/i>\u00a0termed \u2018potential life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice Grosshans stated that the amendment\u2019s failure to inform voters on how it would impact the protections of personhood in the state constitution was not acceptable.<\/p>\n

Justice Grosshans wrote, \u201cIf advised of the conflict, the voter could recognize for themselves that, at some level, an amendment providing broad protection for abortion would bear upon constitutional personhood rights as applied to the unborn child. Thus, the voter would be able to consider the choice before them and the decision they must make.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the Court\u2019s majority acknowledged how the language was broad, but refused to take a position on the future legal effects of the amendment and chose to put the final decision into the hands of voters.<\/p>\n

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Staver stated, \u201cOther than parental notification, no law will survive, not even health and safety regulations. Back alley abortion butchers will be unregulated. Under this proposed amendment, a tattoo artist, a 911 operator, or an assistant to an orthotic shoe fitter will be considered a \u2018health care\u2019 provider and be able to render medical opinions with no medical training. When Floridians learn about this extreme amendment, they will vote \u2018No!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Liberty Counsel) While the Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that a deceptive proposal to codify unrestricted abortion in the state constitution could go before voters this November, three justices got it right in their dissents. They correctly argued that the proposed amendment \u201cmisleads\u201d voters and \u201cfails\u201d to convey the far-reaching legal consequences if voted into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":686,"featured_media":172620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThree dissenting justices on Florida Supreme Court: Ballot language 'misleads' voters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The three women on the Court all dissented from the majority opinion, saying the ballot language was defective in several major areas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/three-dissenting-justices-florida-ballot-misleads-voters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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