Abortion rights supporters make final push as Amendment 4 heads to nail-biting finish

ORLANDO, Fla. — With only a few days remaining before Election Day, George Stuart headed out to knock on doors as part of a final push to put Florida’s abortion rights ballot initiative over the top.

Polls show the measure heading for a nail-biting finish. He didn’t want to watch from the sidelines.

“Women deserve to have control over their own bodies,” said Stuart, 37, preparing to talk to prospective voters in a downtown Orlando neighborhood. “My wife is seven months pregnant. Seeing all the stories, it’s terrifying,” he said of reports that Florida’s strict, six-week abortion ban limited care for women facing pregnancy complications.

Jakub Avila Kowalkowski, 21, has been canvassing in Orlando, too, urging voters to say no to the amendment, convinced the state has a moral obligation to protect the unborn.

“This is a human issue and this is a human right we are discussing, the right to life,” said the University of South Florida student.

After months of petition gathering and emotional debate, decision day is coming Tuesday for abortion in Florida, and the people will get their say. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent trying to persuade them. Gov. Ron DeSantis has thrown his political muscle into the fight, spearheading an all-out onslaught against the abortion amendment.

But the outcome could all come down to this concluding effort, where every door knock and every phone call could make the difference, said Cheyenne Drews, a spokeswoman for Progress Florida, a group supporting Amendment 4.

“That last bit that we need to win is going to be because of one-on-one conversations, because this issue is so personal,” said Drews, who helped to organize canvassing events in Orlando.

It’s the culmination of a year-and-a-half of work. Volunteers across Florida have spent their weekends and evenings gathering petitions and channeling energy into overturning the state’s six-week abortion ban implemented in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court, Drews said.

“They feel the urgency of this moment,” she said. “As Floridians, we’re used to having to vote against things, and this notion of being able to vote for something, people want to be a part of it.”

Of the 10 states voting on abortion rights this year, Florida differs in that Amendment 4 needs 60% of the vote to pass. In other states, the measures can pass with a simple majority. Similar measures have succeeded in other states but failed to reach that supermajority status that Florida requires.

Initiatives in Ohio and Michigan passed with just under 57% of the vote.

A recent Florida Atlantic University poll showed Amendment 4 on the edge of passing with 58% in support, 32% opposed and 11% saying they don’t know.

Amendment 4 would protect abortion access until viability, usually considered about 24 weeks of pregnancy, or when deemed medically necessary by a patient’s health care provider.

Nearly 1 million Florida voters signed a petition to put the measure on the ballot. Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group sponsoring Amendment 4, raised more than $110 million for the petition drive and subsequent advertising efforts. Contributions have spanned from as little as a dollar into the millions. Marsha Laufer, a Palm Beach County philanthropist and political activist, donated more than $9.5 million to the campaign.

Opponents have had far less cash at their disposal. Various political committees raised a combined $11.8 million to defeat Amendment 4.

But they have the state’s Republican Party and many religious leaders behind them. They argued voters should reject the ballot initiative because it failed to define key terms like “viability” and “healthcare provider,” obscuring the amendment’s scope.

DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban last year, which the amendment would undo. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, he barnstormed the state to hold anti-abortion events resembling campaign rallies.

His administration also waged an unprecedented state-funded campaign targeting Amendment 4 with agencies producing what they called educational videos but critics slammed as thinly veiled political advertisements paid for by Florida taxpayers

Kowalkowski, the USF student, said he doesn’t think the abortion amendment has the support it needs based on the reaction he’s gotten from voters. He spent Wednesday canvassing in the Holden Lakes neighborhood south of downtown Orlando. Several people told him they either voted against Amendment 4 or planned to vote against it.

“I have not really faced any animosity,” said Kowalkowski, who estimated he knocked on more than 200 doors in the Tampa Bay and Orlando area. “People are very open to … either taking what you have to give or having some conversations.”

The Catholic Church and other religious groups have urged worshipers to reject Amendment 4, distributing prayer cards and posting videos opposing the measure.

“It is our duty to protect the most vulnerable and support expectant parents,” Stephen Rummage, the leader of the Florida Baptist State Convention, said in a video urging Baptists to vote against Amendment 4.

Although considered one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, Florida’s law includes exceptions to protect a pregnant woman’s health. It also grants exceptions for rape and incest up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. Critics, though, say these exceptions are problematic because of the hurdles women must jump. Rape victims must show proof, such as a police report. Medical exceptions require two doctors to sign off.

Physicians supporting Amendment 4 have said they are often afraid to care for women with pregnancy complications, and sometimes, they must wait for guidance from hospital lawyers. State officials have dismissed those concerns, issuing a provider alert reiterating that Florida law allows for abortions in medical emergencies and warning that failing to provide that “life-saving treatment” could constitute medical malpractice.

Former President Donald Trump said he would vote against Amendment 4 — but also expressed concerns that the six-week ban is too strict.

As a potential contingency plan if it passes, anti-abortion advocates have filed a lawsuit accusing petition gatherers of fraud and seeking to get the results tossed. Amendment 4 supporters deny those accusations.

Stuart’s sister, Ann Elisabeth Stuart Samson, who grew up in Orlando and now lives in Toronto, Canada, joined him for one of the final canvassing events supporting Amendment 4. She traveled back specifically to volunteer ahead of Election Day.

“It’s devastating,” she said. “I have a daughter and I would not encourage her to move to Florida — for university or anything else.”

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