An effort to change the Florida state constitution to enshrine access to abortion has raised nearly $5 million in donations and amassed 147,524 petition signatures in just four months.
That alarms grassroots conservatives in the Sunshine State, who are still celebrating the passage of the Heartbeat Protection Act.The new legislation prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Floridians Protecting Freedom Inc. seeks to reverse that. And pro-life activists worry that the group could be successful, especially because the strategy seems to target conservatives, who might misunderstand the intent of the petition.
Battle Over Abortion in Florida
Andrew Shirvell is the founder of Florida Voice for the Unborn, a statewide, grassroots, pro-life lobbying organization. He fears that some conservatives might be too complacent after perceived “wins” to limit abortion.
In 2022, the Republican-led legislature delivered a 15-week ban to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed it into law. In 2023, the Republican governor—currently running for president—signed legislation limiting most abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy.
Those were celebrated as big victories by many conservatives, even though the new six-week ban isn’t in effect yet.
In September, the Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case challenging the 15-week abortion ban. Due to court rules, the six-week ban will not go into effect until 30 days following the court’s ruling on the 15-week ban.
Meanwhile, the well-funded effort to block legislation restricting abortion in the state is gaining momentum.
Floridians Protecting Freedom has raised nearly $5 million since late April with over 1,500 individual campaign contributions, according to data from the Florida Division of Elections. Hundreds of contributions to the pro-abortion initiative are from private citizens donating less than $100.
By contrast, the Florida recreational cannabis initiative proposed by Smart & Safe Florida has just one company—Trulieve, a medical marijuana dispensary chain—as its primary financial backer. The effort raised almost $40 million by August.
The possibility of having pro-abortion and pro-recreational cannabis initiatives on the 2024 ballot could have wide-reaching implications for the Republican Party, Mr. Shirvell told The Epoch Times.
“This is dangerous because it will motivate the pro-abortion side to come out,” Mr. Shirvell said.
And even if the proposed constitutional amendment doesn’t pass, having its supporters show up en masse to vote for it could hurt all Republican candidates, he said.
Over the past year, the number of registered Republicans in Florida has exceeded Democrats for the first time in the state’s history. As of Sept. 1, state records showed there were more than 5.2 million Republicans, almost 4.7 million Democrats, and almost 3.9 million voters with no party affiliation.
Mr. Shirvell frets that Democratic and Independent voters who would typically sit out other elections could be driven to the polls by these two voter initiatives sitting side-by-side on the ballot. He also sees a lack of unity on the political Right and worries the proposed amendment could win over voters who are still undecided on abortion rules.
“If the Republican Party doesn’t answer that with either ads or mobilizing their base to vote against it, they’re going to be hurt down-ballot,” Mr. Shirvell said. “They need to mobilize.”
Christian Ziegler, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Shirvell is trying to raise conservative awareness by promoting a “Decline to Sign” campaign. With it, he hopes to inform voters of the implications of a pro-abortion constitutional amendment, that it’s meant to “expand abortion” in Florida.
“I think here in Florida, what we need to do as the pro-life movement is communicate this to the Republican Party and our conservative allies, as well,” Mr. Shirvell said.
But “I’m being outspent here in Florida.”
Approaching Conservatives on Their ‘Turf’
Tom Reilly, a real estate agent in Newberry, Florida, almost signed the petition to further the pro-abortion effort because he misunderstood the mission of Floridians Protecting Freedom.
Intrigued by the name, he approached the group’s booth at a gun show in Alachua County. It was the only booth he saw, other than the event’s sign-in table, he said.
He was immediately confused by the group’s name, he said.
Tom Reilly. (Courtesy of Tom Reilly)
“Is this pro-abortion, or anti-abortion?” Mr. Reilly asked.
At first glance, he’d assumed it was a conservative effort to further restrict abortion in the state, considering the booth was at a gun show, an event that typically attracts a more conservative crowd, he said.
Instead of answering his question, the petition gatherer motioned toward the group’s sign, Mr. Reilly said.
When he inquired again for clarification regarding the group’s mission, she pointed to the sign, he said.
Ultimately, Mr. Reilly declined to sign, he said.
He then called Mark Minck, the sponsor of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban abortion in Florida. He asked if the booth represented that effort.
It was then Mr. Reilly realized he’d almost been duped into supporting an effort to expand abortion access, rather than further restrict it, he said.
Floridians Protecting Freedom did not respond to multiple requests from The Epoch Times for comment.
But the group routinely collects signatures at “big events,” such as community festivals and farmer’s markets, and in smaller venues, such as book clubs and Father’s Day gatherings, a representative said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel.
The Floridians Protecting Freedom website describes the group as “a statewide campaign of allied organizations and concerned citizens working together to protect Floridians’ access to abortion as reproductive health care and defend the right to bodily autonomy.”
The group’s website says that “all Floridians deserve the freedom to make personal medical decisions, including about abortion, free of government intrusion.”
‘God-Given Right to Life’
As Floridians Protecting Freedom works to put a proposal guaranteeing access to abortions on the ballot in Florida, Mr. Minck’s group is trying to meet the requirements to be able to ask voters to approve a far different change to the state constitution.
Protect Human Life Florida is collecting petition signatures,
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