Why Florida’s Amendment 4 is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

No matter where you stand on the issue of abortion, there are two items of broad consensus: First, that unrestricted late-term (up to the point of birth) abortion should not be legal, and, second, that parents of underage girls should be consulted and have the right to consent to their daughters' obtaining of abortions. Florida’s proposed Amendment 4 up for vote on November 5 would both allow totally unrestricted abortion up to the point of birth and would remove parental rights around abortion.

In just 39 words, this amendment legalizes late-term abortion, repeals parental consent for minors seeking abortion, and removes all safety regulations for abortion providers. Those in favor of unrestricted abortion might applaud the brevity, but this is no literary or legal masterpiece; its passage would be a tragedy and disaster.

Brevity may be the soul of wit, but it is rarely the soul of legislation. The amendment’s vague language may make voters think they understand what they’re voting on, but the reality is this lack of clarity opens the door to dangerous consequences.

The amendment states, “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability.” The question that must be asked is: What happens when you remove all penalties, delays, prohibitions, and restrictions on abortion? The answer is chilling. If this amendment passes, it will eliminate every single safeguard Florida currently has in place to protect women who choose abortions.

Presently, abortions must be performed by licensed physicians. Amendment 4 would allow anyone to perform an abortion without licensing, training, or qualifications; that’s what happens when the government can’t “restrict” something.

Under this new law, there would no longer be an ultrasound requirement before an abortion. Without an ultrasound, there is no sure way to know how far along the pregnancy is, or if the patient is even pregnant at all. Are you supposed to take the abortion provider’s word for it—that is, the word of the person profiting from the procedure? Since when does the healthcare system operate on the honor system? 

What is the practical reason to remove these kinds of requirements? No one can claim with a straight face that it is to protect women’s health. We used to call abortions done by non-medical personnel without any training or licensing “back-alley abortions.” Under Amendment 4, we can start calling them constitutional abortions. This law makes women’s medical safety take a back seat to a radical pro-abortion agenda.

Then there’s the matter of parental involvement. Under current law, parents must give permission for their minor child to have an abortion. Amendment 4 removes this consent requirement, replacing it with mere notification. Your 14-year-old daughter could be taken under coercion to an abortion clinic without your permission and all the clinic would have to do is notify you. You would have no power to prevent the procedure even after you are notified. Parental consent is erased entirely. If passed, this law will harm underage girls.

The second part of the amendment is equally vague and dangerous. It allows abortion when “necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” But key terms like “health” and “healthcare provider” are left undefined. Could a massage therapist, for example, determine that an abortion is necessary to protect a woman’s mental health? The language is so broadly written that it invites this kind of interpretation. This vagueness opens the door for poorly regulated, late-term abortions—even dismemberment abortions—through all 40 weeks of pregnancy, with no clear legal boundaries.

To recap: This 39-word wolf-in-sheep's-clothing amendment would allow underage girls to have abortions without parental consent, open the door to unsafe, unregulated procedures, and permit painful, late-term, dismemberment abortions on fully viable unborn children. And none of this is necessary—Florida law already includes provisions to protect women’s health and allows for abortion in cases of rape, incest, sex trafficking, maternal health, miscarriage care or severe fetal abnormalities.

Amendment 4 would take Florida from being one of the more pro-life states to one of the most pro-abortion states in the country and would make Florida a destination for abortion tourism.  No matter where you stand on the issue of abortion—whether you’re pro-life, pro-choice, or somewhere in between—if you care about women’s health, the safety of underage girls, and the protection of full-term unborn babies, Floridians should vote “No” on Amendment 4.