Key Messages
FL Bishops’ Statement:
Vote "NO" on Amendment 4 • "We urge all Floridians of goodwill to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment. In doing so, we will not only protect the weakest, most innocent, and defenseless of human life among us but also countless women throughout the state from the harms of abortion," said the bishops of Florida in their statement on Amendment 4.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski Key Messages
• This proposed amendment to our state constitution would prohibit all restrictions on abortion before viability and create a broad exception that any “healthcare provider” could exploit to allow abortion up to birth. I urge all Catholics and people of good will: Vote “no” on Amendment 4!
• Catholics are nevertheless to engage themselves in the public square and do so coherently and unapologetically. To bear witness is our duty as faithful Catholics − and it is our right as faith filled citizens. Vote “no” on Amendment 4!
• This is not to “impose our views” but to “make our proposal” about what is necessary for human flourishing in society. By insisting that every human being matters, we bring to public policy debates on issues of human dignity, justice and peace, an understanding of the human person that, while founded on the Christian Scriptures, is also accessible to human reason.
Amendment 4 Fact Sheet
Ballot Title:
Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion
Ballot Summary: 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.
Why Floridians Should Vote NO on Amendment 4
Amendment 4 would enshrine UNREGULATED ABORTION in our state constitution, making Florida one of the MOST PRO-ABORTION states in the nation. The amendment language is MISLEADING, and its proposed outcomes are DANGEROUS
• PUTS WOMEN AT RISK: Amendment 4 would jeopardize existing laws and prohibit new ones that voters on both sides of the abortion issue support, including health and safety laws that protect women.
• ALLOWS SECOND AND THIRD TRIMESTER ABORTIONS: Though not defined in the amendment, “viability” is defined in Florida law as the stage of development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb (Ch. 390.011(15)), generally accepted to be 22-24 weeks of pregnancy, or about 6 months.
• CREATES A BROAD “HEALTH” LOOPHOLE: “Patient’s health” is not defined in the amendment, allowing post-viability, extremely late-term abortions for treatable, temporary health concerns. Emotional health would justify an abortion when a child could survive outside the womb.
• WEAKENS MEDICAL DOCTOR REQUIREMENT: “Healthcare providers” – not just physicians – could determine if an abortion is “necessary” to protect the mother’s “health.” Even some employees of abortion clinics, such as nurses and counselors, could approve late-term abortions.
• ELIMINATES PARENTAL CONSENT: While preserving parental notification in our state constitution (Article X, Section 22), the amendment would invalidate the current law that requires parental consent for a minor to have an abortion (Ch. 390.01114(5)), making abortion the only medical decision for which parents have no say.
To learn more about Amendment 4 and find additional resources visit
miamiarch.org and https://flaccb.org/abortion-amendment
Frequently Asked Questions about Amendment 4
What is Amendment 4?
Amendment 4 is a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that would essentially establish an unlimited right to abortion throughout pregnancy even when the heartbeat of the preborn child is detected, when the preborn child can experience pain, and when the child is capable of living outside the womb. Amendment 4 will appear on the November 5, 2024, ballot and require approval from 60% of the electorate to pass.
Would abortion be illegal in Florida if Amendment 4 does not pass?
If Amendment 4 does not pass, abortion would still be legal in Florida until a baby's heartbeat can be detected. Current laws that protect the safety of women would remain in effect.
Doesn’t Amendment 4 simply restore Florida back to when Roe v. Wade was in effect?
Amendment 4 goes dangerously beyond what was permitted in the Roe v. Wade ruling. It would eliminate important health and safety measures that protect women, remove parental consent for any minor seeking an abortion, and allow for abortion through the third trimester of pregnancy. Aren’t late term abortions very rare?
Because they are currently not permitted by Florida law, they are extremely rare. There are exceptions in the law that allow late-term abortions to preserve the life of the mother or to avert serious risk of substantial, irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. If Amendment 4 passes, its broad loopholes would allow non-physicians to cite minor, treatable conditions to justify abortions, and there would be many more late-term abortions in Florida.
Will miscarriage care or ectopic pregnancy treatment be denied if Amendment 4 fails?
There is a fundamental difference between an elective abortion and the care provided after a miscarriage or for ectopic pregnancies. Amendment 4 will have no effect on the care a pregnant woman receives in an emergency. Women can always receive necessary and timely lifesaving medical treatment, including in Catholic hospitals. No law restricts this care in Florida.
How is the Church helping pregnant women in need?
The Catholic Church is committed to helping women in need during and after pregnancies. For decades, numerous Catholic social service agencies, in collaboration with faith-based and secular organizations, have assisted pregnant women in need with material resources and personal accompaniment during pregnancy and after their child is born.
What is the Church doing to defeat Amendment 4?
Each diocese in Florida is working together, through the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, to help Catholics understand the dangers of Amendment 4 to women, their children and their families. The Church supports the Florida Voters Against Extremism coalition to educate voters on how Amendment 4 is harmful for Floridians.
What can I do to help defeat Amendment 4?
1. VOTE NO on Amendment 4
2. EDUCATE YOURSELF and TELL OTHERS about the dangers of Amendment 4
3. PRAY & Fast
For more information and to read the text of the proposed amendment, visit flaccb.org/abortion-amendment.