Yesterday, Liberty Counsel filed a brief at the Florida Supreme Court to stop a proposed ballot initiative designed by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU to trick voters into codifying unfettered, unrestricted abortion up until birth into Florida’s Constitution.

Read on to learn how Liberty Counsel is fighting to protect life from Planned Parenthood’s awful “trick or treat.” Read on. — Mat

 Yesterday afternoon, Liberty Counsel filed a brief on behalf of Florida Voters Against Extremism to prevent a deceptive, Planned Parenthood- and ACLU-backed abortion amendment proposal from appearing on the 2024 election ballot. Planned Parenthood’s deceptive ballot initiative seeks to codify unrestricted abortion in the Florida Constitution.

Throughout this year, a Planned Parenthood-backed initiative called “Floridians Protecting Freedom, Inc.” (FPFI) has gathered signatures to place a pro-abortion amendment on the state’s upcoming election ballot.

The proposed amendment, called “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion,” uses deceptive language to trick Floridians into voting to prevent any state or local limitations on abortion. Such deceptive actions are unlawful under Florida law.

FPFI says its proposed amendment would not change the state’s existing 15-week abortion ban, but that’s a lie. The amendment states: “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.”

But FPFI’s claims are a blatant lie, and the amendment summary language to be placed on the ballot does not match or correctly reflect the actual statutorial language of the amendment itself.

The actual amendment that would go into effect states, “Limiting government interference with abortion. — 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 healthcare provider.” 

In legal terms, this is a massive contradiction and a purposeful attempt to obfuscate the true actions of this bill — preventing the state from ANY interference with abortion at all.

In legal terms, if this amendment proposal passes, any parental notification laws would be considered a prohibited “delay” of an abortion. The state’s 15-week abortion bans would be wiped away, and the federal partial birth abortion ban would be ignored under the amendment’s rejection of any law that would “prohibit” abortion.

Furthermore, the amendment’s language regarding “patient health” as determined by a “healthcare provider” is never clearly defined. As long as any “healthcare provider” (which is not limited to a medical doctor) says that an abortion is “necessary” for the woman’s “health” (which includes everything), the abortion is permissible AT ANY TIME UP TO BIRTH.

Whether the girl is a 15 year old hiding a pregnancy from her parents, or the baby is a second away from birth, no one can stop the abortion.

This ballot initiative is just one more attempt by Planned Parenthood and its abortionists’ attempt to protect their bloody but highly lucrative business of killing preborn children. And they’re trying to trick Floridians into voting this deception into the state Constitution. We will have none of it.

Liberty Counsel played a major part in overturning Roe v. Wade when our powerful brief was cited in the Dobbs decision that ended 50 years of abortion at the Supreme Court. Now we are going state to state, fighting to protect the lives of the unborn.

We need YOUR help to fund our crucially important legal work defending life, religious freedom, and the natural family. Support our legal fund today and have YOUR IMPACT DOUBLED by a special Challenge Grant. Please, give generously today.

Thank you for loving life and liberty as much as we do!

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

TAKE ACTION

In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Congress needs to hear from you regarding HR 15 — a bill that would federally overturn the 2003 partial birth abortion ban and enshrine abortion up until birth as a federally protected “right.” Fax Congress NOW to protect Americans from HR 15, the misnamed “Equality Act,” and don’t forget to sign the petition!

Sources:

“FL Supreme Court Asked to Reject Deceptive and Misleading Abortion Amendment.” Liberty Counsel, October 31, 2023. https://lc.org/newsroom/details/103123-fl-supreme-court-asked-to-reject-deceptive-and-misleading-abortion-amendment.

H.R. 15. Equality Act. (2023, June). 118th Congress (2023-2024 Session). Congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/15.‌