Relentless TV commercials tell Floridians to vote for or against Amendment 4, making all kinds of confusing claims about a possible change to the state’s abortion law.

When Florida voters go to the polls in November, they likely will be even more puzzled by the financial impact statement on the ballot next to Amendment 4, asserting that because the law might “result in significantly more abortions and fewer live births,” Florida’s population wouldn’t grow as fast, which means less revenue.

From billboards to commercials to social media posts, the persuasion, misinformation, and bold claims are intensifying with just weeks left before voting day. To provide clarification, here is Amendment 4 explained:

What exactly is Amendment 4?

Voters will decide on Nov. 5 whether to amend Florida’s constitution to limit government restrictions on abortion. Amendment 4 would codify the right to abortion in Florida’s Constitution.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the language in the ballot measure is clear enough for voters to understand. Specially, the amendment says “… 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.”

What is a Yes vote?

A “yes” vote supports adding language to the Florida Constitution’s Declaration of Rights that would allow abortions in two circumstances: through “viability” and “to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” Amendment 4 would maintain the current constitutional provision that permits a law requiring parents to be notified before a minor can receive an abortion.

At least 60% of the state’s registered voters must vote yes for Amendment 4 to pass into law.

What is a No vote?

A “no” vote opposes any changes to the Florida Constitution’s Declaration of Rights with regard to abortion.

A no vote means the state’s current abortion law — which bans the procedure after six weeks — stays in place.

What is the current Florida law on abortion?

In 2023, the legislature passed the Heartbeat Protection Act to ban abortion after six weeks. After some legal wrangling, the six-week ban took effect on May 1, 2024.

The ban includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest and human trafficking, allowing abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. A woman seeking an exception must provide a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation providing evidence that she is a victim of rape, incest, or human trafficking.

The law also allows physicians to terminate a pregnancy if necessary to save the life of the mother or prevent “a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment.” However, two physicians must certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgment, the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.

Without the amendment, who decides Florida’s abortion law?

Florida Legislators would continue to have the authority to make abortion laws in the state if Amendment 4 fails to be approved by 60% of voters. During the 2024 session, a lawmaker from Miami proposed a near-total ban. However, the bill did not advance.

Is the language in the proposed Amendment 4 vague and open to interpretation?

The language reads: “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.”

How certain words in Amendment 4 will ultimately be defined is unclear. But that’s also not unusual for ballot measures. The amendment uses three terms that some legal scholars consider vague: “viability,” “necessary to protect the patient’s health,” and “healthcare provider.”

•“Viability.”

A 2022 Florida Statute defines viability as “the stage of fetal development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb through standard medical measures.” That stage is typically considered 22 to 24 weeks of gestation.

“What it may come down to, though, is whether the average voter knows there is a definition and is agreeing to it when they vote,” explains Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University in Davie. Jarvis believes viability could be interpreted more rigidly than 24 weeks by some people.

Caroline Mala Corbin, a University of Miami law professor, believes viability is not an ambiguous term. “It is a well-understood medical term that means the fetus can survive outside the woman’s uterus.”

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022, allowing states to create their own restrictions after the long-standing Roe vs. Wade federal abortion protections were overturned, abortion was legal in Florida up to viability, which had been considered to be about 24 weeks

•“Necessary to protect the patient’s health.”

Jarvis says this wording can be broadly interpreted legally. “This goes from a hangnail to a woman is going to die without an abortion. The middle is ‘what if the woman will live but cannot have children in the future if she doesn’t get an abortion?’ There is no clear meaning to ‘patient’s health,'” he says.

Corbin disagrees and believes the wording is not ambiguous: “A medically necessary abortion has long been understood to mean a woman’s life is in jeopardy, or her health is at serious risk. It has an established meaning in abortion law.”

•“Healthcare provider.”

Jarvis says Florida law does define who can perform an abortion, but Florida voters may have a different interpretation.

“Is this someone licensed in Florida and trained in women’s health, or what if someone says a healthcare provider is a religious leader?” Jarvis said.

Corbin disagrees that this term is vague: “Florida law has already specified who is able to provide an abortion. Those are the people who will be the healthcare providers. There are specific rules about who those people are.”

She adds: “It is so important to understand the language of the amendment is not existing in a vacuum.

“It exists in a legal system that has well-understood terms and in a system where the Florida courts will have the final say on what these terms mean, and they are not going to allow extravagant interpretations,” she says. “Anyone can make any argument about the meaning of the words, but that meaning is not going to be given legal effect.”

If Amendment 4 passes, can it be changed?

The Florida Legislature could take action to define the terms in Amendment 4, and the amendment’s language could raise legal challenges.

“They (legislators) cannot change language in the amendment, but they can try to impose certain interpretations, and they can do so in a way that narrows the availability of abortion,” Corbin explains.

Legal experts say such an action, though, likely will be challenged in the courts and ultimately by the Florida Supreme Court.

“If the courts think legislators interpreted wording in a way that is not faithful to the amendment, they can find it to be unconstitutional,” Corbin says. “Between the court’s interpretation and the Legislature’s, the court’s interpretation wins. Unless Floridians think the courts will go off the deep end and define terms completely differently than they have been for decades, the meanings are not complicated.”

Jarvis is more skeptical: “This is an intentionally vague amendment that will be subject to both legislative and court involvement, and there is no way to predict how the Legislature and court will deal with it. Chances are good they will interpret this as narrowly as they can.”

How would Amendment 4 affect parental rights?

Under existing Florida law, a parent must be notified and give consent for a minor to have an abortion unless the minor gets a waiver from the court. The ballot measure would keep in place state law that requires medical providers to notify a parent or legal guardian when a minor under their care seeks an abortion; the requirement for consent has been removed.

If approved, when would Amendment 4 go into effect?

Florida’s current six-week ban would stay in place until Amendment 4 takes effect on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.

There has been talk of an abortion law in Congress; how would that affect Florida law?

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional standard that had protected the right to abortion. Without any federal standard regarding abortion access, states are setting their own policies to ban or protect abortion.

Presidential candidates have talked about a potential federal law — with Kamala Harris saying she wants to ensure abortion rights for all, and Republicans floating the idea of banning abortion.

“If Congress has the authority to pass a federal law, and that law conflicts with Florida law, the federal law prevails,” Corbin says.”Under our system of government, federal law is the supreme law of the land.”

©2024 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Visit at sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.