Florida advocates fight for abortion rights ballot initiative 'without interference from politicians'

06 May 2023

Abortion rights groups, led by Planned Parenthood are aiming to get abortion rights on the ballot, The Washington Post reports.

First reported by Politico, the initiative "would roll back one of" Florida Governor Ron "DeSantis’ signature policies by allowing abortion until a fetus is viable at about 24 weeks of pregnancy."

The announcement also comes just a few weeks after the GOP governor passed a six-week abortion ban.

The Postreports:

[The initiative] would allow voters to decide whether the state should allow abortions until a fetus is viable, which is generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks. The groups, which also include the ACLU of Florida and Women's Voices of Southwest Florida, are expected to announce the multimillion-dollar push to get the initiative on the ballot at an event in Tallahassee on Monday.

Deputy Political Director of the ACLU of Florida told The Post "DeSantis' abortion bans — the 15-week and the six-week measures — do not represent what mainstream Floridians want."

She added, :What the groups are looking to achieve with the proposed ballot initiative is to restore the access Floridians had to safe abortions in their state before the events of last year."

According to The Post, spokespeople for the organizations involved said in a statement Friday that citizens of the Sunshine State "want the freedom to make their own personal health care decisions without interference from politicians."

Latshaw noted, "I get the sense that, because this is a ballot initiative, it feels as though … it's uncharted territory. But it's the access to health care that we’ve always enjoyed. This just gives Floridians the chance to show that they value it."

The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required). Politico's report is here.

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