ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In just hours, a pivotal battle is looming in the Florida Supreme Court over abortion.
The court will hear arguments later today from abortion rights groups looking to put abortion protections on the November ballot.
They will be determining whether the wording in the ballot measure satisfies state rules.
Two conservative states — both Kansas and Ohio voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights when it was put on the ballot for voters to decide.
Supporters have already gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, and now Amendment 4 — limiting government interference in abortion — is pending Supreme Court review.
If successful, the measure could undo the state’s abortion bans while dealing a significant blow to the governor and conservative legislators.
Right now, Florida bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Governor DeSantis signed a six-week ban but that won’t be enacted unless the state's 15-week ban is upheld.
Pro-life critics argue the amendment is dangerous and reckless, while the attorney general claimed the ballot language is unclear, misleading and should be disqualified.
But supporters like Dr. Katherine Sutherland say giving women the right to choose and scaling back abortion restrictions is not only overwhelmingly popular on both sides of the aisle but in some situations a matter of life and death.
“That’s why nearly 1.5 million Floridians signed the petition to put Amendment 4 on the ballot," Sutherland said. "This ballot proposal, if passed in November, will protect Floridians' freedom to decide what is best for their own bodies, their lives and their families.”
So far, abortion rights have won every time they've been on the ballot since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
For the measure to pass it will need support from 60 percent of the voters to succeed.