Florida’s Amendment 4 Receives Mixed Opinions

Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On November 4, Floridians will vote on Amendment 4, which would allow for a right to abortion before fetal viability.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 allowed states to become in control of abortion limits. Following this decision, Florida instated a 15-week limit which has now changed into a six-week limit that went into effect on May 1st of this year. Many Floridians have contested this ban and on November 5, 2024, Floridians can vote on Amendment 4. This amendment will allow Floridians to access abortions until fetal viability, which is around 23 to 24 weeks (about 5 and a half months) of pregnancy.  

"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,” the amendment said. “This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion." 

This amendment has notable opponents including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. 

"I'll be voting no," the former President said to a Fox News reporter when asked about Amendment 4. Trump has been slightly vague on his view when it comes to abortions. He has said that he doesn't support Florida's six-week limit and that there should be more time. 

"I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks," former President Trump said in the same interview. This discrepancy, in view, has confused some voters about his true opinion on the matter.  

Governor Ron DeSantis has urged his fellow Republicans to publicly oppose the amendment and contribute to the opposition of it. 

"Every one of our elected representatives needs to say where they stand on this. And obviously, it would be a ‘no’, " Governor DeSantis said at the Republican Party of Florida’s 2024 Victory Dinner on Saturday, September 7. "And so now you have an amendment that is the most extreme in the other direction you can go, and some are not saying anything or not offering to help us to defeat this.”  

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

At this same dinner, DeSantis explicitly stated his concerns about the amendment.  

"Here’s what’s going on: This is an amendment that will effectively green-light abortion all the way to the moment of birth," Governor DeSantis said. "They do it indirectly, they use loopholes, and that’s obviously very bad." 

While there are notable opponents to the amendment, there are also some supporters. These people include Paxon students and President Joe Biden.  

The topic of abortion is something that teenagers have been talking about across the country. On campus, multiple students have expressed their opinions on the matter.  

Sophomore Anilah Jones weighed in on the amendment. 

"So many situations happen that cause a female to want an abortion," Jones said. "And to those who think that it should be illegal and that it's 'murder' shouldn't get one. Why put every other woman at risk." 

Sophomore Derrington Harris commented about possible effects of the amendment if passed.  

"A positive effect of the amendment will be that we'll have fewer irresponsible and neglectful parents in our state due to the amount of people who are forced to give birth,” Harris said. 

President Joe Biden is a supporter of the amendment and has stated his support for the right to abortion multiple times.  

"Donald Trump stripped away the rights and freedoms of women in America,” President Biden said during a speech in Tampa, Florida. “This November, you can add Florida to that list. Are you ready to do that? You’ve gotta show up to vote.”