Florida AG Asks State Supreme Court to Block Pro-Abortion Ballot Measure

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R)

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) is asking Florida's Supreme Court to block a proposed ballot measure that would amend the Florida Constitution and create a right to abortion. She argues that the measure's language deceives voters.

The proposed amendment states, "Except as provided in Article X, Section 22 [Florida's parental notification law], 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."

Moody argues that the amendment fails to clearly define "viability." In an op-ed for Florida's Voice, Moody wrote,

"As just one example of how misleading this initiative is, the initiative creates a right to abortion through 'viability.' As any mother knows, 'viability' has two meanings when it comes to pregnancy.

First, it means whether a pregnancy is expected to continue developing normally through delivery. Doctors can tell during the first trimester, usually around about 12 weeks, whether a pregnancy is viable and would have a much lower risk of miscarriage. For that reason, many women often wait to tell family and friends about their pregnancy until that time.

Second, viability is sometimes used to mean whether a baby can survive outside of the uterus, which currently is around 21 to 25 weeks of pregnancy. The two time periods, depending on your definition of viability, are starkly different, and the procedures performed to abort a baby’s life at either time period are dissimilar."

Moody's argument suggests that some voters could interpret the language as prohibiting abortion after 12 weeks gestation, since that is when the first definition of abortion would apply. Since more Americans support abortion during the first trimester, this could draw more voters to support the amendment.

"As attorney general, I have a constitutional and statutory duty to inform the Florida Supreme Court when ballot initiatives will confuse voters. Thus, I will file a brief with the court fulfilling that responsibility," Moody concluded.

Truthfully, the language of this amendment actually allows unlimited abortion. It allows a mother's "healthcare provider" to declare an abortion legal if it would protect the mother's "health." These terms are often interpreted broadly in court, such that the amendment would allow an abortionist (the person profiting from abortion) to declare the abortion necessary to protect a mother's mental or emotional health.

Click here to read more.