{"id":311965,"date":"2024-05-07T13:49:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T18:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=311965"},"modified":"2024-05-07T13:49:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T18:49:23","slug":"floridas-amendment-4-unlimited-abortion-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/floridas-amendment-4-unlimited-abortion-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida’s Amendment 4 would actually allow unlimited abortion. Here are the facts."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt of an opinion commentary that first appeared in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(Sun-Sentinel<\/a>) It rarely happens, but when it does, it makes headlines. The Supreme Court of Florida got it right and wrong, all on the same day.<\/p>\n

On April 1, the Court\u00a0announced its rulings<\/a> on two different cases that pertain to the same contentious issue of abortion. Each decision, although made independently, helps both sides of the argument. One will ultimately allow restrictions on abortion after six weeks of gestation, when a baby\u2019s heartbeat can be detected. This will go into effect on May 1. But the other could end these protections \u2014 all depending on what Floridians decide in November. With this decision, the Court took the weight of abortion off of their shoulders and placed it on the backs of voters….<\/p>\n

The science is clear: Life begins at fertilization. After just 22 days, a preborn child\u2019s heart will begin to beat. This\u00a0is\u00a0supported<\/a>\u00a0by nearly every medical source. Florida\u2019s Agency for Health Care Administration\u00a0estimates<\/a> that protecting a preborn child from abortion after six weeks gestation would save thousands of lives in our state each year, while also sparing the mother from life-long regret and trauma.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the good news. The bad news is that the law may not stick, because a collection of organizations calling themselves \u201cFloridians Protecting Freedom<\/a>\u201d have added a proposed amendment to November\u2019s ballot that reads:\u00a0No law shall\u00a0prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict\u00a0abortion before\u00a0viability\u00a0or when\u00a0necessary\u00a0to protect the patient\u2019s health, as determined by the patient\u2019s\u00a0healthcare provider.<\/p>\n

… If passed, Amendment 4 would allow abortions throughout the entirety<\/em>\u00a0of pregnancy as long as a \u201chealth care provider\u201d says it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

The groups behind the proposal, including Planned Parenthood, gathered nearly one million signatures to put it on the ballot. But I guarantee these voters were not given the facts before signing. If they had, they would never have agreed to sign.<\/p>\n

Two simple facts change minds on abortion every day. One: The \u201cfetus\u201d is\u00a0an innocent human life<\/a>\u00a0growing\u00a0inside the womb. Two:\u00a0Abortion procedures\u00a0violently and brutally kill<\/a> that child….<\/p>\n