Floridians for Protecting Freedom
Tallahassee—The absence of a robust TV presidential campaign in Florida has allowed the Amendment 4 ballot initiative to take center stage. That prominence brought a steady wave of misinformation to defeat a popular constitutional amendment. Amendment 4 would save Black women who could die at an alarming rate because of Florida’s abortion ban that went into effect in May. But that disturbing fact is lost in the web of lies. “The lies are extreme. But more troubling is their total disregard for the deadly impact on Black women of childbearing age. The defeat of Amendment 4 is a killer for Black women,” according to attorney Pamela Burch Fort. Fort is among a contingent of attorneys who have fought to get the amendment on the ballot, keep it there, and stop the state from using the Department of Health to pay for misleading public information ads about Amendment 4.
While proponents of Amendment 4 were prepared for the onslaught of negative ads, the abundance of misinformation is overwhelming. “Sometimes it’s like boxing with a ghost. But we’re determined to win the fight with the truth,” says Fort. Here is the truth about the Amendment 4:
IT DOES NOT eliminate parental consent for an abortion.
IT DOES NOT use taxpayer dollars for abortion.
IT DOES NOT allow people who are not doctors to perform abortions.
IT DOES NOT allow elective abortions up to 9 months or after birth.
The ads are so unbelievable that they seem to embolden women who want to end the ban.” We can’t trust politicians to control our medical decisions,” says Lauren Brenzel, Campaign Director of Floridians for Protecting Freedom, pushing passage of the amendment. Brenzel’s team has produced powerful response ads that stress the imminent danger to women—the risk to black women, however, quadruples under Florida’s abortion ban.
Women continue outperforming their past voting records in this election cycle, which drives outcomes in all races. That turnout should buoy the passage of Amendment 4, but it must receive 60% of the vote to eliminate the six-week abortion ban.
