Amendment 4 is intentionally vague, so don’t be fooled | Opinion

In recent weeks, we’ve been bombarded by what I believe are ads designed to mislead voters about Florida’s abortion laws, hoping to scare Floridians into approving Amendment 4.

They claim Florida has a “total abortion ban,” but Florida law allows abortions for any reason in the first six-weeks until a baby develops a heartbeat.

That is hardly a ban, but Amendment 4 supporters are spending more than $100 million to make you think abortion is totally illegal in Florida. It is not.

Similarly, Florida law has exceptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, fetal abnormalities and the life or physical health of the mother. If a woman is raped, she can get an abortion in Florida in the first 15-weeks, period.

Amendment 4 proponents know this, but have run thousands of ads falsely claiming the opposite. In one television ad, they claim Florida law forced a woman to deliver a stillborn baby.

I don’t know her tragic circumstances, but a fatal fetal abnormality like that is why Florida law says abortions are available in those cases. Amendment 4 activists know they can’t win with an honest debate, so they are simply trying to lie their way into our Constitution.

But why won’t they tell us what Amendment 4 actually does? Because they know that if they do, I believe few voters on either side of the abortion issue would vote for it.

Not surprisingly, Amendment 4 is heavily funded by out-of-state interests, including the billionaire George Soros, whose organizations have spent millions pushing Amendment 4.

Not only do voters resent the deceptive narrative, they resent out-of-state billionaires who use their wealth to force their personal views into our state constitution or to turn Florida into a state like California.

So, what does Amendment 4 do?

The Amendment 4 wording is intentionally vague as a way to hide its true effect. (Editor’s Note: Pro and anti proponents have their own, differing interpretations of Amendment 4.

The amendment allows abortion for any reason until “viability,” but never defines it. The amendment then allows even later abortions for “health” reasons, which are also undefined. Since proponents claim abortion itself is healthcare, this “exception” will swallow the rule and allow late-term abortions until birth. Most people agree that there’s a point at which it’s just too late to allow an abortion. With Amendment 4, there is no limit.

Equally concerning, the amendment eliminates Florida’s requirement that a licensed physician participate in abortions, handing the decision to an undefined “health care provider.” Most Floridians understand that not involving doctors places the health and safety of women at risk.

Separately, Floridians strongly support parental consent, which is required whenever minors have a medical issue, even as simple as receiving aspirin.

Amendment 4 wipes out parental consent for abortion, making abortion the only medical procedure that could be performed on a minor without a parent’s permission. (Editor’s note: Proponents deny this interpretation.)

Courts follow a well-settled principle of legal interpretation, often referenced in Latin as Expressio unius est exclusio alterius, meaning the specific expression or inclusion of one thing (parental notification) in the proposed constitutional amendment must be interpreted to exclude any right to a closely related thing (parental consent) that was not also specifically mentioned.

The attorneys drafted Amendment 4 with this clever trick to eliminate parental consent. Don’t fall for it.

Even my pro-choice friends believe abortion should not be open-ended, that a real doctor should be involved, parental consent should be preserved and that taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund abortions.

Yet the backers of Amendment 4 passed a similarly vague amendment in Michigan and are now seeking a court order forcing Michigan taxpayers to pay for abortions for those who receive government assistance.

It’s no wonder that proponents refuse to tell us what Amendment 4 actually does. Because when they find out, voters overwhelmingly will reject what I believe is a deceptive and extreme amendment.

Florida Republican State Rep. Paul Renner of Palm Coast is the outgoing Speaker of the Florida House.

This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 6:24 PM.