City leaders in Hialeah are ready to make their position clear on abortion rights. The city has no authority when it comes to abortion laws, but despite this, it will be a topic of discussion at Tuesday’s council meeting. NBC6’s Steve Litz reports
The city of Hialeah delved into the issue of abortion, approving a motion on Tuesday that opposes Florida's Amendment 4.
The city has no authority when it comes to abortion laws, but despite this, it was a topic of discussion at Tuesday’s council meeting. The council's agenda read, "the City of Hialeah will be communicating its opposition to Amendment Four, a proposed Florida Constitutional Amendment concerning abortion."
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"I think there is a lot of local representatives that have connections with our voters and they like to understand what our point of view is, where we stand on matters," said Councilwoman Monica Perez, one of the sponsors of the item.
NBC6 political analyst Sean Foreman called it a waste of time.
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"This is just another example of the hyper-partisanship that we have in politics these days," he said. "There is no reason for city officials to go on the record when it comes to abortion policy because cities don’t have any role in the law in the state."
Amendment 4 will ask voters whether or not Florida should protect the right to an abortion.
The summary on the ballot 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.”
It would end the six-week ban on abortion currently in place.
The Yes on 4 campaign, in favor of abortion rights, is adamant about no government, at any level, having a say on abortion rights.
"Our position about any type of distraction like this is just to ignore it and keep on focusing on what we have to do, which is educate the community on Amendment 4 and they need to say yes, and to vote yes," said Lisa Zayas of the Yes on 4 campaign.
