An abortion ballot initiative is one step closer to appearing before voters in the Sunshine State in November but still faces a court battle before it can end up on the ballot.
The initiative, spearheaded by the abortion-rights group Floridians Protecting Freedom, has 911,169 valid signatures, according to the Florida Division of Elections, and only needs 891,523 valid signatures as part of qualification for the ballot. The petition must face a judicial review in front of the Florida Supreme Court before it can be put in front of voters in November, but Florida Democrats are celebrating the milestone.
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“We know what will happen if reproductive rights make it onto the ballot in 2024 — just like in every other state since Dobbs, Florida voters will choose to keep the government out of their healthcare decisions. Florida is the next battleground in a wave of post-Dobbs movements to protect our freedoms, and the Florida Democratic Party stands ready to help get this movement across the finish line in November,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said in a statement.
The ballot initiative would ban restrictions to the procedure before 24 weeks but would also provide a cutout for when “necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” Abortion is illegal in Florida after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, or the health of the mother, with a six-week ban with exceptions still pending legal review.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has come out against the initiative and has urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject the ballot initiative due to the vagueness of its wording. Moody has contended that the language of the ballot initiative was made to mislead voters, specifically regarding the cutout for protecting “the patient’s health” being determined by the “patient’s healthcare provider.”
The Florida Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the ballot initiative on Feb. 7.
