Florida Supreme Court Allows Statewide Vote On Abortion Rights Amendment

The Florida Supreme Court approved a pro-choice amendment to appear on the state’s ballot in November in a Monday afternoon ruling.

The high court approved the language of the amendment to appear on the ballot exactly as it was submitted by pro-choice group Floridians Protecting Freedom in a 4-3 ruling.

Floridians Protecting Freedom collected well over the amount of signatures required — more than 1 million — to get the proposal on the November ballot. Amendment 4, also titled “ Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion ,” seeks to guarantee access to abortion care up to fetal viability, which is usually around 24 weeks.

“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,” the amendment states . The amendment clarifies that it would not change the state’s current law that requires parental consent for a minor to obtain an abortion.

“Today, the court affirmed what we’ve known all along: that Amendment 4 clearly satisfies the requirements for placement on the ballot,” Lauren Brenzel said during a press conference after the ruling came out. Brenzel is the campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, which led the Yes on 4 campaign to get Amendment 4 on the ballot.

“We are thrilled Floridians will have the opportunity to reclaim their bodily autonomy and freedom from government interference by voting for Amendment 4 this November,” Brenzel said.

If a majority of Floridians vote for the amendment in November, it will go into effect on the “Tuesday following the first Monday of January,” according to Brenzel.

Andrew Shirvell, founder and executive director of the