Save lives: Vote no on Amendment 4 | Opinion
It rarely happens, but when it does, it makes headlines. The Supreme Court of Florida got it right and wrong, all on the same day.
On April 1, the Court announced its rulings on two different cases that pertain to the same contentious issue of abortion. Each decision, although made independently, helps both sides of the argument. One will will ultimately allow restrictions on abortion after six weeks of gestation, when a baby’s heartbeat can be detected. This will go into effect on May 1. But the other could end these protections — all depending on what Floridians decide in November. With this decision, the Court took the weight of abortion off of their shoulders and placed it on the backs of voters.
As a Florida native and mother of four, I’m encouraged by our state’s gradual progress in protecting children in the womb from abortion. Over the last several years, I’ve followed closely as we’ve strengthened protections for children and increased our support for families. But by allowing an extreme abortion amendment on our ballot, all that progress could be reversed. Now, Floridians must educate themselves on the truth about abortion and be ready to stand and advocate for these precious babies in the voting booth.
If people knew the truth about abortion — that it brutally kills an innocent life — they would vote NO on Amendment 4 in November.
The science is clear: Life begins at fertilization. After just 22 days, a preborn child’s heart will begin to beat. This is supported by nearly every medical source. Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration estimates that protecting a preborn child from abortion after six weeks gestation would save thousands of lives in our state each year, while also sparing the mother from life-long regret and trauma.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the law may not stick, because a collection of organizations calling themselves “Floridians Protecting Freedom” have added a proposed amendment to November’s ballot that reads: 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.
A lot is being said there in a way that is meant to confuse voters, but let’s be clear. If passed, Amendment 4 would allow abortions throughout the entirety of pregnancy as long as a “health care provider” says it’s needed.
The groups behind the proposal, including Planned Parenthood, gathered nearly one million signatures to put it on the ballot. But I guarantee these voters were not given the facts before signing. If they had, they would never have agreed to sign.
Two simple facts change minds on abortion every day. One: The “fetus” is an innocent human life growing inside the womb. Two: Abortion procedures violently and brutally kill that child.
The following statements by former abortionists describe the most common abortion procedures in Florida:
- Generally done in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, a chemical abortion involves two sets of pills. The first set of pills starves the embryo by depriving him or her of nutrients and oxygen. The second set causes contractions to force the mother into labor.
- A Suction D&C abortion procedure is done in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. A suction tube is inserted to dismember the child and brings out body parts through the tube.
Do we really want to enshrine this into our state’s constitution? Despite what these organizations say, people do not see the brutality mentioned above as freedom. In fact, polling shows that 79% of Florida voters want at least some protections for the children in our state.
Over the coming months, Floridians will be bombarded by extreme abortion activist organizations from New York and California trying to convince us that our only future is in the killing of as many Floridian babies as possible. It’s a lie.
It’s time we come together and take a stand. We must educate ourselves on the beauty of life in the womb and the brutality of abortion procedures. We must share the truth with others. And we must show up to shut down Amendment 4.
Last year, there were 84,052 abortions performed in Florida. Do we want our state to allow this injustice to continue? To welcome it? To applaud it? To encourage it? I say no. Let us be a people and a state that offers real solutions to families in need, not the cheap “solution” of killing their children. I pray you will stand with me on November 4 and reject Amendment 4.
Kimberly Bird is a Tampa resident and is vice president of external relations at Live Action, a national human rights nonprofit and the digital leader of the pro-life movement.