Advocates for women’s reproductive rights held at a rally in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, to urge people to vote ‘yes’ on Amendment 4.
Advocates for women's reproductive rights held at a rally in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, to urge people to vote 'yes' on Amendment 4.
The amendment seeks to overturn the state's six-week abortion ban.
Patients, healthcare providers, faith leaders and residents from across South Florida attended the event.
A Broward mother told the crowd that she nearly died after her water broke at 16 weeks of pregnancy. She said she was denied healthcare following a miscarriage.
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"The doctor told me that I was going to lose our baby but because of Florida's extreme abortion laws, they couldn't provide the care I needed and I was forced to go home -- told to wait until my condition got worse," she explained. "This was the worst experience of my life."
Governor Ron DeSantis is one of the biggest opponents of Amendment 4. He stood alongside 20 doctors at a Catholic church in Coral Gables this week, calling for voters to not support the measure.
"It would eliminate Florida's parents' rights for parental consent for minors and abortion," DeSantis said.
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But advocates of Amendment 4 have said that is not true. They argue the amendment on the ballot says it does not change the legislature's constitutional authority to require consent of a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion. (A 2020 state law requires written parental consent before a minor undergoes an abortion.)
Opponents of Amendment 4 also argue that it will allow for late-term abortions because it doesn't define viability; however, viability is already defined in Florida law as the stage of fetal development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb through standard medical measures.
