Florida’s November ballot will have the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion” up for a vote. Though, upon careful reading, much more than government interference will be at stake should this amendment pass. Here is the ballot summary you will see on election day: “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.”
What you will not see on the ballot are definitions of any key terms in the amendment. Without the confinement provided by definitions, the amendment simply eliminates all limitations and regulations on abortion, including safety regulations that protect pregnant women. Important words like “viability” are undefined, leaving the term open for the discretion, or lack there of, to a medical provider or patient. “Protecting the patient’s health” also could be used far beyond what is insinuated. Most people think of this as meaning that an abortion should be available if the patient’s life is at risk. Without a definition, protecting health could mean something as simple as protecting against mental stress or far less. Basically, this section of the amendment has loopholes large enough for a semi to drive through.