This November , Florida voters will either leave the state’s new six-week abortion ban in place or expand abortion access closer to what it was before Roe v Wade was struck down in 2022.
Amendment 4, Abortion Access, which will appear on November’s ballot , would enshrine abortion access in the Florida Constitution if it wins by a supermajority, or at least 60% of the vote. The amendment 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.”
Voting yes would make abortion legal until fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 23-24 weeks. It would also allow abortions when necessary to protect a patient’s health, as determined by a health care provider.
Voting no would leave abortions illegal in Florida after six weeks unless two physicians are willing to state that the pregnant person would die without one. Pregnancies from rape, incest or sexual trafficking are permitted up to 15 weeks only with law enforcement or court documents as evidence.