Doctors warn Florida voters about purposely 'misleading' abortion amendment: 'Very deceptively worded'

A large coalition of medical professionals is warning Florida voters about a purposely "misleading" abortion amendment that would overturn the state's six-week ban if passed in the upcoming November election.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed the Heartbeat Protection Act into law in 2023. The legislation prohibits abortions after six weeks.

'Traffickers and abusers will be able to much more easily coerce girls into abortions.'

A new ballot measure, Amendment 4, called the "Right to Abortion Initiative," seeks to rescind the state's restrictions by adding language to the Florida Constitution's Declaration of Rights that 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."

The amendment has received national attention, in part because Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump recently reiterated statements to the press that he believes DeSantis' six-week ban is "too short." His response sparked backlash from pro-life supporters, which prompted Trump, a Florida resident, to clarify how he plans to vote on the measure, Blaze News previously reported.

Trump noted in a recent interview that he does believe that six weeks is "just too short a period," but he plans to vote against the amendment, citing Democrats' "radicalization" regarding supporting abortion up to nine months. If passed, the initiative could block any laws attempting to implement time restrictions.

Florida doctors recently voiced concerns about the measure's "brief" and "vague" language.

Dr. Richard Sandler, a pediatric gastroenterologist, is one of a few hundred medical professionals who joined Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4 to speak out in opposition to the amendment.

"To me, the most powerful [argument] is abortion until birth, because even the pro-choicers are typically not in favor of that," Sandler told the Florida Phoenix. "And certainly, the majority of voters are not in favor of that, that's clear. But they're not reading this amendment to realize this is what's being allowed. It's not explicitly what's in there. You have to read between the lines a little bit, which makes it harder to explain, but it's there."

Sandler accused the measure of being "very deceptively worded" and filled with ambiguous language.

"It's so brief. It's so vague. So many terms undefined," he added. "And there is so much money and deception that is behind it."

Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4's website explains that, if passed, the measure will allow abortions up to nine months and eliminate parental consent for children.

The amendment states that it will still "require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion." However, critics noted that "notification" is not the same as "consent."

Dr. Stephen Hannan, president of the Southwest Florida Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, explained that the measure is "very misleading," the Diocese of Venice in Florida reported.

"Simply notifying a parent does not mean consent is required, just that someone was notified," Hannan said. "And the ballot summary provides no stringent criteria for notification as proof of identification as a parent."

Dr. Karen Liebert, an OB/GYN and medical director at the Community Pregnancy Clinic in Sarasota, warned that the amendment could pose significant risks to children.

"Traffickers and abusers will be able to much more easily coerce girls into abortions, since the parental consent requirement is removed with the passage of this amendment. This is a real issue. Even worse, with no doctor involved, it's easier for an abuser to get someone, any loosely defined 'healthcare provider,' to say an abortion is needed," Liebert explained.

Dr. Ana Garcia Iguaran, an OB/GYN and general practitioner, stated that the initiative would "provide unlimited, unrestricted access to abortion."

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