Photo: iStockphoto
The November election is less than two months away and there are efforts to sway voters in both directions of proposed Constitutional Amendments that will on the ballot.
They include Amendment 4, which would codify abortion rights in the state Constitution. Beau Heyman has issues with the wording of that proposal.
"There's a lot of undefined language, such as 'healthcare provider.' When I say healthcare provider a lot of people think doctor, but according to the state of Florida 'healthcare provider' is very widely interpreted."
Heyman is the executive director of First Care Women's Clinic in West Palm Beach and chairman of the Keep Florida Pro Life political committee. He says it could even mean that the person deeming a fetus to be no longer viable might be a surgical tech.
He says the amendment, should it pass, would essentially lift any restrictions whatsoever on having the procedure.
"Who's doing your abortion? Anyone who wants to. Where are they doing your abortion? Anywhere they want to."
Heyman contends that Amendment 4 doesn't even allow for true parental consent.
"A notification isn't consent, so if an abortion clinic calls and says 'Hey your daughter's getting an abortion,' and you say 'I don't want her to,' they can say 'Tough luck, I notified you,' and they can hang up the phone."
He refers to the ballot summary, which reads that the amendment "does not change the Legislature's constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion."
Floridians Protecting Freedom, the political committee that is sponsoring Amendment 4, says Floridians deserve the freedom to make personal medical decisions, free of government intrusion.
The amendment's text in full:
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.
All six of the amendments on the ballot in the general election need 60 percent of the vote to pass.