While a solid plurality of the American electorate identifies as pro-life, abortion remains a very contentious issue both nationwide and in Florida, and this dynamic is likely to play out when voters head to the polls in November to decide the future of abortion law in the Sunshine State.
To understand just how the Florida Abortion Amendment, or Amendment 6, would impact state law, it is necessary to review what federal laws currently govern the controversial procedure.
From 1787 to 1973, there were no federal laws regulating abortion. Because abortion was (and still is) nowhere mentioned in the United States Constitution, this was a matter removed from federal jurisdiction, and each state was free to tailor its law according to the moral sensibilities of its citizens. But in 1965, the Supreme Court in Griswold v. Connecticut claimed to have discovered a right to privacy implied in the Constitutions First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments, and used this new right to strike down state laws that banned the sale of contraceptives.
In 1973, in the cases Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the Supreme Court declared that this right to privacy included a womans right to have an abortion at any stage of her pregnancy; the court decided that states could choose to outlaw abortions of viable fetuses --i.e., fetuses capable of surviving outside the mothers womb --but only if exceptions were provided for the life or health of the mother.
The court in Doe said that states must define health to include physical, emotional, psychological, and familial factors. Since every pregnancy involves some physical, emotional, or economic (familial) stress, this has created a legal regime critics refer to as abortion on demand. As a result, the United States today has one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world.
But while the Supreme Court has kept states from outlawing any abortion by an adult woman outright, it has allowed them to impose some laws regulating the practice. For example, states may require that women wait up to 24 hours after scheduling an abortion before the procedure is performed; states may pass informed consent laws which require abortionists to provide certain information to women who wish to undergo the procedure; they may require that abortion centers meet certain health and safety standards; they may prohibit state taxpayer funding of abortions; and they may require that parents be notified if their minor child seeks an abortion (parental notification), and may prohibit a minor from having an abortion without the parents consent (parental consent).
All of these measures are opposed by abortion-rights groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Organization for Women, and the Democratic Party.
This is where Amendment 6 comes in. If passed by 60 percent of the voters, it would change Florida law in at least two respects.
Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the Florida Constitution does contain an explicit right of privacy in Article I, Section 23. In 1989, the Florida Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a state law requiring parental consent before a minor could obtain an abortion, citing the right of privacy. According to the court, because Floridas right to privacy is explicitly articulated in the state Constitution, and not merely implied, the Florida Constitution actually imposes greater privacy protections than the United States Constitution does, including greater protections of the right to an abortion, even for minors. Amendment 6 provides that the right of privacy may not be interpreted to create broader rights to an abortion than those contained in the United States Constitution.
Practically speaking, this means that if voters pass Amendment 6, the Florida Legislature will be empowered to pass a parental consent law. In addition, if the U.S. Supreme Court were to ever overturn Roe v. Wade, the new constitutional provisions would prevent the Florida Supreme Court from interpreting the right of privacy in such a way as to prevent the Legislature from outlawing any or all abortions.
Second, Amendment 6 would enshrine in the state Constitution a prohibition on all state taxpayer funding of abortion (except in cases of rape or incest, or where continued pregnancy threatens the life of the mother), thereby strengthening a restriction that already exists in the Florida statutes.
What were trying to do is make sure our state Constitution is consistent with the U.S. Constitution, says Rep. Stephen L. Precourt, R-Orlando, one of the amendments legislative co-sponsors, in an interview with Sunshine State News. There have been a lot of [Florida Supreme Court] cases over the years that have had mixed outcomes and some of these are in direct contravention of what the intent of the language in our state Constitution is.
Precourt suggests Amendment 6 is needed to keep Florida from fighting costly and time-consuming legal battles if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned and abortion referred back to the states.
If the day comes when the U.S. Supreme Court changes the law of the land with regard to abortion rights, we want to make sure our own laws in Florida are consistent with that so we dont have to go through another 20 years of legal battles and judicial reinterpretations of our state Constitution, he says.
But Judith Selzer, vice president of public policy and communications at Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast, tells Sunshine State News the ballot measure is just a political power-grab over women and their bodies.
Sometimes pregnancies go tragically wrong. If a woman was diagnosed with cancer and needed to end a pregnancy in order to get chemotherapy, Amendment 6 could stop her insurance provider from covering the care she needs, even if her health was threatened, she says.
Everyones circumstances are different. It is better that each woman is able to make her own decision in consultation with her doctor, her family and her faith. It is not for politicians to decide what should or should not be covered by someones health plan, or for them to take coverage away from people who already have it today.What will stop the politicians from preventing birth control or heart medication from being covered by insurance? This is the politician in Tallahassee interfering with a womans personal decision-making.
In fact, Amendment 6 would only prevent health insurance plans from subsidizing abortions (except in the case of rape, incest, or endangerment to the life of the mother) if those plans receive state tax dollars.
Asked whether minor children should have to receive their parents consent before undergoing an abortion, Selzer said [a]s loving parents, of course we all want our daughters to come to us if they become pregnant, and because of Florida's current parental notification law, parents are notified and involved. Planned Parenthood, in fact, opposes parental notification laws.
Sunshine State News asked Selzer whether Planned Parenthood believes children should be allowed to undergo other medical procedures besides abortion without their parents consent; she declined to answer.
This isnt an invasion of anyones privacy at all. This is clarification of what the right to privacy includes, Precourt insists. When we send our kids to our public schools, they have to have parental approval to receive an aspirin, or to have an inhaler if they have asthma. These children need parental guidance and approval to have an abortion. Judicial activists [on the Florida Supreme Court] have abused our constitutional law to create a situation where you have these minor children who are facing one of the biggest decisions of their lives to kill a baby and they are being abused by the [judicial] system by being taken away from the guidance of the most important people in their lives, their parents.
If you believe in the sanctity of life, you should vote for Amendment 6.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at 954-235-9116.
