# 2024 Florida Amendment 4

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2024 Florida Amendment 3
2024 Florida Amendment 4 :
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Florida Amendment 4 was a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution, which failed on November 5, 2024. Through a statewide referendum, the amendment achieved 57% support among voters in the U.S. state of Florida, short of the 60% supermajority required by law.
The amendment would have enshrined a right to abortion in the Florida Constitution before fetal viability (generally considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks gestational age) and nullified then-existing statutes such as the Heartbeat Protection Act. It would have also permitted abortion after viability (23 weeks to birth) for any reason a healthcare provider determined to be related to health.

## Content

The ballot summary for the amendment stated the following:
   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 health-care 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.
The initiative would have added the following text to Article I of the Florida Constitution:
   Except as provided in Article X, Section 22, 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 health-care provider.

## Financial impact statement

The financial impact statement for the amendment stated the following:
   The proposed amendment would result in significantly more abortions and fewer live births per year in Florida. The increase in abortions could be even greater if the amendment invalidates laws requiring parental consent before minors undergo abortions and those ensuring only licensed physicians perform abortions. There is also uncertainty about whether the amendment will require the state to subsidize abortions with public funds. Litigation to resolve those and other uncertainties will result in additional costs to the state government and state courts that will negatively impact the state budget. An increase in abortions may negatively affect the growth of state and local revenues over time. Because the fiscal impact of increased abortions on state and local revenues and costs cannot be estimated with precision, the total impact of the proposed amendment is indeterminate.
The financial impact statement was strongly criticized by amendment supporters, such as Floridians Protecting Freedom, who accused it of being a misleading political statement.

## Legal challenges
### Ballot access

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, has opposed the ballot initiative since October 2023, when she asked the Florida Supreme Court to analyze the ballot initiative. In November 2023, Moody urged the Florida Supreme Court to block the ballot initiative, as she questioned the definition of "viability" and argued that the ballot initiative will "lay ticking time bombs that will enable abortion proponents later to argue that the amendment has a much broader meaning than voters would ever have thought".
The Florida Supreme Court in April 2024 approved Florida Amendment 4 to be placed on the ballot for voting in November 2024, because it adequately satisfied the requirements set. Despite Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody arguing that some of the language was deceptive, the Florida Supreme Court instead ruled that "it cannot be said that the ballot summary will mislead voters regarding the actual text of the proposed amendment." The Florida Supreme Court further stated that "the broad sweep of this proposed amendment is obvious in the language of the summary. Denying this requires a flight from reality", while ruling that there is "no basis for concluding that the proposed amendment is facially invalid under the United States Constitution."

### Attempted censorship of campaign advertising

On October 4, 2024, the Florida Department of Health's general counsel John Wilson sent cease and desist notices to multiple Florida television stations, threatening prosecution if they did not retract a campaign advertisement for Amendment 4. The department alleged the ad falsely implied that abortions to protect the life of the mother were not possible under current state law; while the Heartbeat Protection Act does contain exceptions for these scenarios, they are considered vague, and there have been reports of patients turned away by Florida hospitals due to uncertainties under the law. The letter asserted that the ad "threatens or impairs" the health of Florida residents by encouraging them to delay their abortion or pursue one out-of-state, therefore constituting a "sanitary nuisance" punishable as a criminal misdemeanor under state law. One station—WINK-TV in Fort Myers—complied with the cease and desist order.
The threat was criticized by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF)—the organization who produced the ad—who stated that it was an "unconstitutional state action", and "a textbook example of government coercion that violates the First Amendment." FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated that "threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government's views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech." On October 12, it was reported that Wilson had quietly resigned.
On October 16, FPF filed a lawsuit against the Florida government, alleging "unconstitutional coercion and viewpoint discrimination" in its threats against television stations. The suit argued that the Florida government "cannot use its coercive powers as the state to attempt to chill or suppress the speech of FPF or others who would speak in support of the amendment or facilitate that speech. Wilson and surgeon general Joseph Ladapo are named in the lawsuit. The next day, a 12-day restraining order was granted against Ladapo by Judge Mark Walker, stating "to keep it simple for the State of Florida: it's the First Amendment, stupid."
In an affidavit, Wilson revealed that he had been directed to send the letters by Ryan Dean Newman and Jed Doty—the general counsel and deputy general counsel of Governor Ron DeSantis. He stated that he was not involved in the writing of the letters, and that he had resigned from his position in condemnation of their actions. FPF subsequently dropped Wilson from the suit.

## Support and opposition

U.S. executive branch officials
* Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States (2021–present) (Democrat)
Statewide officials
* Nikki Fried, 12th Agriculture Commissioner of Florida (2019–2023), and Chair of the Florida Democratic Party (Democrat)
U.S. Representatives
* Kathy Castor, U.S. representative from FL-14 (2007–present) (Democrat)
* Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, U.S. representative from FL-20 (2022–present) (Democrat)
* Lois Frankel, U.S. representative from FL-22 (2013–present) (Democrat)
* Maxwell Frost, U.S. representative from FL-10 (2023–present) (Democrat)
* Jared Moskowitz, U.S. representative from FL-23 (2023–present) (Democrat)
* Darren Soto, U.S. representative from FL-9 (2017–present) (Democrat)
* Debbie Wasserman Schultz, U.S. representative from FL-25 (2005–present) (Democrat)
* Frederica Wilson, U.S. representative from FL-24 (2011–present) (Democrat)
State Senators
* Lori Berman, state senator from the 31st district (2018–present) (Democrat)
* Lauren Book, Minority Leader of the Florida Senate (2021–present), and state senator from the 35th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Tracie Davis, state senator from the 5th district (2022–present) (Democrat)
* Shevrin Jones, state senator from the 34th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Tina Polsky, state senator from the 30th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Linda Stewart, state senator from the 13th district (2016–present) (Democrat)
State Representatives
* Robin Bartleman state representative from the 103rd district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Lindsay Cross, state representative from the 60th district (2022–present) (Democrat)
* Dan Daley state representative from the 96th district (2019–present) (Democrat)
* Fentrice Driskell, Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives (2022–present) from the 67th district (2018–present) (Democrat)
* Anna Eskamani state representative from the 42nd district (2018–present) (Democrat)
* Ashley Gantt, state representative from the 109th district (2022–present) (Democrat)
* Rita Harris, state representative from the 44th district (2022–present) (Democrat)
* Dianne Hart state representative from the 61st district (2018–present) (Democrat)
* Christine Hunschofsky state representative from the 95th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Tom Keen state representative from the 35th district (2024–present) (Democrat)
* Angie Nixon state representative from the 13th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Susan Valdes state representative from the 64th district (2022–present) (Democrat)
Labor unions
* 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Organizations
* ACLU of Florida
* Catholics for Choice
* Equality Florida
* Fairness Project
* Florida Democratic Party
* Florida Women's Freedom Coalition
* Freedom From Religion Foundation
* League of Women Voters of Florida
* Men4Choice
* Planned Parenthood Action Fund
* Reproductive Freedom for All
U.S. executive branch officials
* Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States (2017–2021) (Republican)
Statewide officials
* Ron DeSantis, 46th Governor of Florida (2019–present) (Republican)
* Ashley Moody, 38th Florida Attorney General (2019–present) (Republican)
U.S. Senators
* Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida (2011–present) (Republican)
* Rick Scott, U.S. Senator from Florida (2019–present) (Republican)
U.S. Representatives
* Aaron Bean, U.S. Representatives from FL-04 (2023–present) (Republican)
* Byron Donalds, U.S. Representative from FL-19 (2021–present) (Republican)
* Neal Dunn, U.S. Representative from FL-02 (2017–present) (Republican)
* Matt Gaetz, U.S. Representative from FL-01 (2017–present) (Republican)
* Cory Mills, U.S. Representative from FL-07 (2023–present) (Republican)
* Greg Steube, U.S. Representative from FL-17 (2019–present) (Republican)
State Senators
* Danny Burgess, state senator from the 20th district (2020–present) (Republican)
* Jay Collins, state senator from the 14th district (2022–present) (Republican)
State Representatives
* Jenna Persons-Mulicka, state representative from the 78th district (2020–present) (Republican)
* Paul Renner, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2022–present) from the 19th district (2015–present) (Republican)
Individuals
* Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–2001) and the Indianapolis Colts (2002–2008)
* Frank Pavone, anti-abortion activist and National Director of Priests for Life
* Evan Power, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida
* Ben Shapiro, commentator
Organizations
* Democrats for Life of Florida
* Republican Party of Florida
* Florida Voice for the Unborn
* Liberty Counsel
* National Right to Life Committee
* Students for Life of America
* Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America
Florida governor Ron DeSantis in April 2024 criticized Florida Amendment 4 as "radical" and "very, very extreme". Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones supported the amendment, stating "Abortion IS healthcare, and every Floridian should be able to access the care they need without government interference."
Former President Donald Trump, who is a Florida resident and the Republican presidential nominee for the 2024 presidential election, has stated that he will vote "No" on the amendment, after previously stating that he is "going to be voting that we need more than six weeks".

## Polling

A 60% supermajority vote is required for the amendment to be approved.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | For | Against | Undecided |
| Stetson University | October 25 – November 1, 2024 | 452 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 64% | 36% | – |
| Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research | October 19–27, 2024 | 913 (RV) | ± 3.2% | 58% | 32% | 11% |
| St. Pete Polls | October 23–25, 2024 | 1,227 (LV) | ± 2.8% | 54% | 38% | 8% |
| University of North Florida | October 7–18, 2024 | 853 (LV) | ± 3.49% | 60% | 32% | 8% |
| New York Times/Siena College | September 29 – October 6, 2024 | 622 (LV) | ± 4.8% | 46% | 38% | 16% |
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy | October 1–4, 2024 | 625 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 61% | 33% | 6% |
| Public Policy Polling (D) | September 25–26, 2024 | 808 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 58% | 31% | 11% |
| Victory Insights (R) | September 22–25, 2024 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 50% | 29% | 21% |
| NextGen Polling | September 6–9, 2024 | 1,745 (LV) | ± 2.0% | 57% | 27% | 16% |
| Public Policy Polling (D) | August 21–22, 2024 | 837 (RV) | ± 3.4% | 61% | 25% | 14% |
| Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research | August 10–11, 2024 | 1,055 (RV) | ± 3.0% | 56% | 21% | 23% |
| University of North Florida | July 24–27, 2024 | 774 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 69% | 23% | 8% |
| Fox News/Beacon Research/Shaw & Company Research | June 1–4, 2024 | 1,075 (RV) | ± 3.0% | 69% | 27% | 4% |
| CBS News/YouGov | May 10–16, 2024 | 1,576 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 60% | 20% | 19% |
| Cherry Communications (R) | April 28 – May 7, 2024 | 609 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 61% | 29% | 10% |
| Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Research | April 15–17, 2024 | 865 (A) | ± 3.3% | 49% | 19% | 32% |
| Emerson College | April 9–10, 2024 | 1,000 (RV) | ± 3.0% | 42% | 25% | 32% |
| USA Today/Ipsos | April 5–7, 2024 | 890 (RV) | ± 4.1% | 57% | 36% | 6% |
| University of North Florida | November 6–26, 2023 | 716 (RV) | ± 4.37% | 62% | 29% | 9% |