Abortion is on the ballot in 2024. In Florida, Amendment 4, a citizen-led ballot initiative that would protect the right to an abortion in the state, will be presented to voters. The amendment seeks to ensure access to abortion up to “viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” While it has significant support, it will need 60% of the vote to pass.
“They want to take us back, and that’s the importance of voting, because we’re getting complacent,” Dr. Kristen Hollist, a Miami-based doctor who founded Optimal Health, told That Part Podcast and Hy-Lo News during a virtual Millennial Town Hall on the Importance of Voting in Florida. “Women should have their rights, and the resources available to do what’s best for [themselves].”
The push for Amendment 4 comes amid a nationwide debate over abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade (1973). While some states have moved to protect abortion access, 17 states have enacted total bans. In Florida, the effort behind Amendment 4 has largely been driven by the grassroots coalition Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), also known as “YesOn4.” A recent poll from the University of North Florida found that nearly 40 percent of Florida Republicans support the initiative.
While the presidential election dominates conversation, discussions about abortion rights are happening all over the country. In a recent appearance on Club Shay Shay, John Legend highlighted how a 20-week abortion saved his wife and supermodel Chrissy Teigen’s life and noted that abortion restrictions disproportionately affect Black women, particularly in the South.
Florida, with the second-largest Black population in the U.S. following Texas according the to Pew Research Center, has a pressing need for access to reproductive healthcare. In 2022, the state was home to more than 700,000 Black women aged 15-44. If passed, Amendment 4 could restore Florida as a critical access point for abortion seekers in the state and across the South, where access has been increasingly restricted.
“We are advocating for abortion access, and the understanding of how important this is for Black people and Black families to get the care they need,” said Jasmen Rogers, Founder of Folding Chair Consulting and podcaster with FL Black Girls, who also spoke with That Part Podcast and Hy-Lo News during the virtual town hall.
Since the Dobbs decision reversed federal abortion protections, Florida has seen a shift from relatively lenient laws to more restrictive measures, with the state tightening access from 15 weeks to 6 weeks in May 2024. This change has limited the state’s role as an access point for abortion seekers from neighboring states. According to the Agency for Health Care Administration, nearly 8,000 out-of-state patients sought abortions in Florida in 2023, accounting for about 10% of all procedures in the state.
Currently in the state, abortion-seekers not only face a shortage of clinics and available clinicians but they must also abide by mandatory two in-person appointments with a 24-hr waiting period. And as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida notes, there are “no real exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the patient,” with most individuals not realizing they are pregnant by the 6-week mark.
As PBS and others have reported, given that about half of the country’s entire Black population lives in the South, almost 60 percent of Black women between 15 and 49 “live in states where abortion is banned or limited.” Data has repeatedly shown that Black women have abortions at higher rates than white women. According to 2021 data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women had about 40% of the abortions performed in Florida. This holds true at similar numbers across the country.
This disparity is attributed to factors like lower contraception use, medical mistrust, and socio-economic issues. As Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) wrote, “the health care system has a long history of racist practices targeting the sexual and reproductive health of people of color, including forced sterilization, medical experimentation, [and] the systematic reduction of midwifery…”
Additionally, Black women face higher maternal health risks. In 2021, Black women suffered maternal mortality rates at more than twice the rate of white women in the U.S., with similar numbers in Florida specifically. In 2022, Black women had more preterm and low birthweight births in Florida than every other ethnicity. In 2021, the Black infant mortality rate in Florida was almost 11 percent, double that of other ethnicities.
The National Partnership for Women and Families reported in May 2024 that 17 of the 26 states likely to ban abortion also have above-average maternal mortality rates, with 80% of Black maternal deaths being preventable. As a result of these abortion restrictions, economic issues are exacerbated and contribute to birthing and child-rearing anxiety. National Partnership also found that nearly 1 million “uninsured Black women live in states that have both above-average maternal mortality rates and that have banned or are likely to ban abortion.”
National Partnership continues, “This lack of insurance coverage means that these women are significantly less likely to be able to access high quality reproductive, preventative, primary and overall health care, which inevitably leads to worse health outcomes and greater health inequities.” Further, nationwide restrictions such as the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortions, also contribute to issues of access when Black women are more likely to use Medicaid for their healthcare.
“When you combine all of that with the fact that you now have these [restrictions] put up by the state…this isn’t hyperbole,” Former State Senator and Senior Policy Advisor for Florida Rising Dwight Bullard, told Hy-Lo News. “It actually creates a higher risk of death for black women.”
A 2021 study published in the Duke University Press echoed these sentiments, estimating that in the event of a total ban, Black people (non-hispanic) would experience the “greatest increase in pregnancy-related deaths,” with an estimated 12 percent increase in the first year, and a 33 percent increase in subsequent years.
Abortion restrictions not only limit access to abortion but also strain healthcare services, with hospitals closing maternity units and providers compromising care due to inadequate training. If Amendment 4 passes, it could mitigate some of these issues and restore essential services.
While Amendment 4 has support, there has also been plenty of backlash against the amendment, with the countermovement “NoOn4” calling the initiative “too extreme.” They argue that the wording of the amendment would allow for “late-term abortions.” The campaign against the amendment has also stated that the amendment is a “bait and switch,” where it claims to restore Roe protections but goes “much further,” and that it eliminates parental consent for a minor to have an abortion. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also challenged supporter’s of the amendment and threatened TV stations airing pro-Amendment 4 advertisements.
“Amendment four is just putting in place what we have had for decades with abortion care in Florida,” Rep. Ashley Gantt (109-D) told Hy-Lo News. “No matter what propaganda the Republicans are trying to push, it is putting [back] into place what we already have, and there are guardrails.”
As the election draws near, the fight over reproductive rights intensifies all across the U.S., but especially here in Florida. On one hand, the opposition stands for the continuation of restrictive reproductive laws. On the other, if passed, Amendment 4 would provide “this incredible feeling of liberation for us as women, being able to have that sensation of knowing what’s best for us,” Jahdai Cross, member of Florida Rising, said. “When we have the power of choice, there’s nothing that we can’t do.”
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