By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

TALLAHASSEE | The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging all Floridians to vote ‘no’ on Amendment 4. An extremely grave amendment that has been placed on the November 2024 ballot that seeks to erase pro-life protections by inserting language into the Florida Constitution banning regulation of abortion. Here is the bishops' statement:

Florida Bishops Oppose Extreme Abortion Amendment Vote No on Amendment 4 Florida Amendment 4, which will appear on Florida’s November 2024 ballot, is an extreme proposal that legalizes full-term abortion with no protections for the preborn child, including when the child is capable of feeling pain. 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.

Furthermore, the amendment would effectively overturn or seriously jeopardize common-sense state laws that have regulated abortion for years. These include basic health and safety requirements for clinics where abortions are performed, requiring a physician to perform abortions, informed consent requirements, laws limiting public funding of abortion, and parental consent requirements before a minor’s abortion. These risks demonstrate the extreme nature of the amendment.

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.

Human life is sacred. The dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision of society. Direct attacks on innocent persons are never morally acceptable, at any stage or in any condition. In our state, human life is repeatedly being destroyed by abortion. Over 84,000 vulnerable and voiceless children were aborted in Florida in 2023.

This matter concerning the respect for human dignity and the fundamental value of human life is of grave importance to both our Church and our state. The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent public policy priority. Therefore, we support a coordinated campaign to mobilize against the proposed amendment. To this end, we offer this prayer to defeat Amendment 4: