Voters in Florida are showing increasing support for a new measure that would limit the state government’s ability to have a say on abortions, despite Governor Ron DeSantis‘ attempts to brand the change as “radical.”
Emerson College’s latest polling showed a rise in the number of voters wanting to see Amendment 4 pass, paving the way for a constitutional right to an abortion up to fetal viability—around 23 weeks.
The survey showed 53.2 percent of voters planned to vote yes, against 29.8 percent of those stating “no.” In an April poll, support stood at 42.4 percent.
“In poll after poll, we’re encouraged to see that the overwhelming majority of Floridians support ending Florida’s extreme abortion ban by passing Amendment 4,” Keisha Mulfort, senior communications strategist at the ACLU in Florida, told Newsweek on Wednesday.
“Recent polling makes clear that turnout will be the deciding factor, especially with the state’s coordinated effort to spread misinformation and confuse voters,” she said.
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On Tuesday, DeSantis told Fox News that the ballot measure would allow abortion “all the way up until birth for virtually any reason.”
“It eliminated parental consent for minors,” he said. “In Florida, if you want to prescribe a minor Tylenol, you have got to get parental consent, but somehow they’re going to take abortion out of that.”
Amendment 4 does not eliminate parental consent. It states: “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.”
Desantis said that the amendment would allow abortions to be carried out by “healthcare providers” rather than physicians, which he said would lead to “very dangerous situations.” He argued that once voters understood what Amendment 4 meant, their support for the measure was withdrawn.
Yes on 4 clarifies that, in the amendment, “Healthcare Providers must be licensed to provide healthcare: ‘Healthcare provider’ is used throughout Florida law. They are regulated by the state and must follow medical ethics and the standards of practice or risk losing their licenses. Healthcare providers must be licensed and qualified to provide the particular healthcare at issue. Nothing in Amendment 4 changes that.”
In addition to the Emerson College poll, another survey showed that nearly 40 percent of Republicans in the state supported the measure.
Mulfort told Newsweek that Florida was spending over $20 million campaigning against the amendment when those funds could be better used to help those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in recent weeks.
“This egregious misuse of resources underscores just how desperate state officials are to avoid an honest vote on Amendment 4,” she said, adding that officials were using every tool they could to preserve extreme abortion bans.
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment via email on Wednesday afternoon.
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Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion was limited to 15 weeks in Florida. That was then replaced with a six-week limit in May 2024.
When Emerson spoke to voters in April, over 57 percent said six weeks was too restrictive, while 28 percent said the limit was “about right.”
Over 850 doctors signed an open letter this week expressing their support for Amendment 4. They argued that the six-week ban was taking a “psychological, physical, and emotional toll” on their patients.
DeSantis held a press conference on Monday alongside healthcare professionals who are against the amendment, with one saying those mothers who had reportedly died due to the abortion ban had lost their lives due to medical negligence instead.
“Amendment 4 is about limiting government interference with abortion and restoring patient control over their bodies, their lives, and their futures,” Mulfort added.
“The opposition will do anything to maintain power, but they refuse to take any steps toward lifting the harmful abortion restrictions that affect so many.”
