Understanding Florida's Amendment 4
Words matter! Know what you're voting on!
Last week we visited our daughter for Family Weekend at her college and we attended church with her. The sermon was on the doctrine of Imago Dei, the biblical truth that all human beings are created in the image of God. During the sermon the pastor felt led to talk about Amendment 4 to the Florida constitution that’s on the upcoming ballot. He made some compelling points that I feel led to share as well!
Now, I don’t typically vote for amendments, because I’m usually uncomfortable with the idea of changing the state constitution. I’ve also been voting long enough, I’ve come to realize people pushing amendments try to word them in a way that sounds appealing to a lot of people, but when I examine what it says, I’m alarmed!
Such is the case with Amendment 4. Words matter, especially when they will not just become laws, but actually part of the state constitution. So, let’s take a look at what Florida Amendment 4 says, and consider how far reaching and vague much of it is.
“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. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
No Law - Essentially, this completely removes the issue of abortion from the legislative process. If we think it’s important for the future possibility of reasonable laws being passed by our elected representatives regarding this issue, we should vote no on Amendment 4.
Before Viability - Ask yourself what this means? I could ask 10 different people when a baby is viable and get 10 different answers. Who can possibly determine when an infant is viable and when it is not? This is extremely subjective and subjectivity is something that should lead us to vote no on Amendment 4.
Protect The Patient’s Health - One of the strongest pro-choice arguments and talking points is that abortion is necessary to protect the life of the mother. That’s a reasonable argument, so you’d think we could expect to see that language in the amendment, but instead it says “health”. Interesting! What does it mean to protect the patient’s health? What kind of health are we talking here? Physical health? Mental health? Emotional health? Social health? Occupational health? Financial health? Who gets to define what that even means? And what’s the standard of health? This is further subjective language that should give us pause about supporting Amendment 4.
Healthcare Provider - Once again, this is extremely vague and subjective. What is a healthcare provider? A doctor? Sure! A nurse? Maybe. A midwife? Possibly. What about a doctor or nurse at an abortion clinic? I guess that’d count. It seems to me like anyone in the realm of medicine could, in a court of law, be considered a healthcare provider. Do we really want that kind of vagueness to be part of our state constitution? I don’t believe so.
Notification - This is the real kicker for me as a parent of three daughters. This amendment, I believe specifically uses the word “notification” instead of “consent” because the proponents of Amendment 4 not only want to remove our legislature from putting restrictions on abortion, they also want to remove parents from making decisions for their own children. Doctors must get parental consent to give children Tylenol, but if this Amendment becomes part of our constitution, that same child could get an abortion without parental consent. Let that sink in!
This is not a political issue for me. I learned my lesson over 10 years ago and I have worked hard to try to stay out of politically divisive discussions. The reason I’m addressing this is because Amendment 4 is one of the most subversive, subjective, and vague amendments I have ever seen put on the ballot.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about morality, the sanctity of innocent human life, and the ability of parents to make decisions for their children. And, it’s about maintaining our republican (small r) form of government where we have the ability through our representatives to make laws based upon the values of the people.
I also, don’t believe this is a pro-life vs. pro-choice amendment. I have a lot of pro-choice friends, who I think, given the vagueness of this amendment would choose to not support it, even if they agree in principle with expanding abortion rights.
Thankfully, the threshold for an amendment to pass in the state of florida is 60% so we only need to get 40% of the electorate to vote against it!
I’d urge you to pray about this, spread the word about the vagueness in this amendment, VOTE NO ON IT, and encourage everyone else you know - pro-life friends and pro-choice friends alike - to do the same!