Lawsuit filed to try to remove Florida abortion amendment from ballot

A lawsuit filed in Florida seeks to invalidate an abortion amendment from the November ballot, claiming that the petition-gathering process was tainted by widespread fraud. The lawsuit, initiated by anti-abortion advocates and represented by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson, cites a report from Governor Ron DeSantis's administration that alleges significant discrepancies in the validation of signatures. According to the report, 16. 4% of the petitions should not have been considered valid, which the plaintiffs argue means the initiative only gathered 833,521 valid signatures—well below the required 891,523. Proposed by the group Floridians Protecting Freedom, Amendment 4 aims to protect abortion access until viability, roughly 24 weeks into pregnancy, reversing Florida's current six-week abortion ban.

This amendment had garnered substantial support, with nearly one million verified signatures collected statewide. The Department of State had initially certified the amendment for the ballot earlier this year, but the recent report has raised questions about its legitimacy. With Governor DeSantis actively opposing the measure, the outcome of this legal battle will significantly impact abortion rights in Florida. The ongoing situation highlights the contentious legal and political landscape surrounding reproductive rights in the state.