Florida group hoping to get abortion measure on the 2024 ballot faces hurdles despite having enough signatures

TAMPA, Fla. - A group hoping to protect abortion rights in Florida said it has enough signatures to get the issue on the November 2024 ballot, but there are still some hurdles to make that happen.

Currently, Florida bans abortion after 15 weeks, but the Florida Supreme Court is set to rule any day on a lawsuit challenging that ban. If it's upheld, a six-week ban Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law earlier this year would automatically take effect. 

It's why groups like Floridians Protecting Freedom are pushing to get enough signatures to get an amendment on the 2024 to protect against those bans.

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"When we talk about a six-week abortion ban potentially going into effect here, it will impact every person who needs access to care," said Lauren Brenzel, the director for the Floridians Protecting Freedom campaign. "You think about somebody from Miami trying to get to a place like North Carolina to access care and those barriers are insurmountable."

The proposed amendment 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." 

According to the Associated Press, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has asked the Florida Supreme Court to keep the proposed amendment off the ballot, arguing that both sides have differing interpretations of what viability means and that the terms "health" and "health-care provider" are too vague.

"The claim that viability is confusing is not altogether persuasive, given that viability is a well-established term, particularly in the abortion context," University of Miami law professor Caroline Mala Corbin said.

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In order to get the proposed amendment on the ballot, they'll need to meet the threshold of 891,523 verified signatures. According to the state, as of this week, the group already has more than 750,000 verified signatures. 

By the end of the month the group said they'll have submitted a total of 1.4 million signatures to be verified. They'll also need to get the language in the amendment approved by the Florida Supreme Court before it can go on the ballot.

"Our language is clear and concise, and those arguments are hollow and politically motivated. We believe that this issue needs to be put directly to Florida voters," Brenzel said.

The state has until February 1 to validate the signatures submitted by Floridians Protecting Freedom. If the group meets the requirement, the Florida Supreme Court will then have until April 1 to approve the language in the proposed amendment before it can go on the ballot in November.