Overwhelming majority of Florida supports Amendment 4
Roughly 70 percent of state supports new amendment that would protect abortion rights
New polling figures indicate a massive jump in support for reproductive rights among Floridians as they consider whether to pass a ballot initiative that would protect abortion access.
According to a study conducted by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab, roughly 69 percent of state residents support the proposed amendment that will be put before voters in November. To pass, the amendment must receive at least 60 percent voter support.
I spoke with Dr. Michael Binder, the lab director, to get further details about what the measures showed.
“It's a little bit surprising, at least from my perspective, when you're thinking about abortion how it doesn't usually move a ton because people typically have their views on it pretty well situated or so,” Binder said.
The support has increased since they last measured public opinion in Fall 2023. At that time, 62 percent of those polled said they supported the amendment.
Binder attributes several factors to the change. First, the wording of the amendment came out. It says that 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 does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.
The severe restrictions enacted by the state may have also triggered a backlash.
“We've moved from a state that two years ago was a Roe state and then a 15-week state to a six-week state,” Binder said. “So that's a significant difference. So if you find yourself in the 15-week category and think six is too much, suddenly, a Roe-era world is more appealing.”
Roughly 53 percent of Republicans support the amendment. Binder also said there is consistent support among various ethnic and religious groups.
But he cautioned against being overly confident in what the polls indicate.
“At least in Florida specifically, there's a lot of asterisks around polling, particularly three months out from an election,” Binder said.