The Florida Supreme Court voted 6-1 to allow the revised financial impact statement for Florida’s Amendment 4, which proposes to codify unrestricted abortion in the state’s constitution, to be on the November ballot.
Chief Judge Muniz wrote the opinion, joined by Justices Canady, Couriel, Grosshans, Sasso, and Francis. Justice Labarga dissented.
The ballot will now contain a brief, 150-word allotted warning about how it will likely cost the state a significant amount of taxpayer dollars. The warning states the amendment may require the state to use taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, invalidate parental consent laws, and negatively affect the growth of the Florida budget over time due to less people being born and due to litigation to resolve legal uncertainties.
The revised financial impact statement reads: “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 full text of Amendment 4 reads: “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. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
In the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion, Chief Judge Muniz wrote, “The same day the circuit court issued its ruling, the Senate President and House Speaker directed that the Estimating Conference be reconvened to review the original financial impact statement and to ‘make changes, if any, the conference deems appropriate.’ The Estimating Conference then held public meetings on July 1, 8, and 15. ‘Those meetings were voluntary, not pursuant to the circuit court’s order. And the petitioners actively participated in each meeting.”
The Court continued, “Applying these principles here, we must conclude that the petitioners waived or forfeited their opportunity to seek extraordinary quo warranto relief challenging the Estimating Conference’s authority to adopt the revised financial impact statement. The record demonstrates that those who participated in the Estimating Conference’s revision process, including the petitioners, understood that the Conference was acting on its own initiative. As explained earlier, the circuit court order invalidating the original financial impact statement was stayed throughout the period when the Estimating Conference reconvened and worked in July. Moreover, the Estimating Conference’s clear charge was to exercise discretion in deciding whether revisions to the original financial impact statement were necessary.”
Essentially, the revised financial impact statement gives voters seven key warnings. The amendment may:
- require the state to pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars.
- increase abortions and decrease live births.
- decrease the population and thereby affecting school funding.
- eliminate parental consent laws.
- eliminate health and safety laws that require only licensed doctors to perform abortions.
- increase litigation that will cost taxpayer dollars to resolve legal uncertainties.
- significantly reduce the number of people being born thus reducing state growth and revenue over time.
Amendment 4 could also render the following Florida statutes as unconstitutional:
- Every law except for parental notification, including health and safety laws.
- The Parental Consent for Abortion Act, which requires physicians to obtain written consent from a parent before performing an abortion on a minor.
- The physician requirement, which allows only licensed physicians to perform abortions.
- Restrictions on taxpayer funding for abortions, which restricts the use of public funds to subsidize abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical necessity.
On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Florida voters will have a chance to reject or ratify Amendment 4, which is titled “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion.” Amending the state’s constitution requires approval by a 60 percent majority.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver stated, “Voters should understand that Amendment 4 will not only allow abortion up to birth for any reason, but will force Floridians to pay for abortion, and will place women at extreme risk by overriding every health and safety standard.”
