Mahurin: Amendment 4 is extreme, radical, and deceptive
Letter to the editor
Dear Editor,
This November, Floridians vote on Amendment 4, sponsored by Planned Parenthood and the radical left.
This Amendment is extreme, radical, and deceptive.
The ballot summary 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 health care provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
49 words. Zero definitions or clarifications.
Amendment 4 repeals all common-sense abortion laws enacted by our elected representatives. Viability is not defined. Therefore, painful, dangerous late-term abortions would be legal in Florida under Amendment 4.
“Health” remains undefined under this radical proposal, possibly intentionally. This extreme Amendment goes far beyond allowing abortion to save the life of the mother, which is the current law in Florida. Under Amendment 4, other types of physical, emotional, and financial circumstances could be used to permit late-term abortion.
Further, no definition is given for health care providers, so even non-physicians would be allowed to perform abortions.
Finally, while parental notification sounds reasonable, it replaces Florida’s current law of parental consent. Consent is currently required of parents of minor children to obtain an abortion. Notification would change all that and only require the news of an abortion to be reported after the fact. Parents would lose their rights.
Whatever your views on abortion, we all can agree.
It’s too extreme for Florida.
Vote No on Amendment 4.
Scott J Mahurin, St Petersburg
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
Democrats want a parasite growth industry to cultivate across Florida, after saturating the markets of California, Oregon, and other one-party Blue states good folks are fleeing, leaving depressed euthanasia clients left over.
Planned “Parenthood” services…
Contraceptives without question:
enhance culture of sexual sociopaths, test for STDs, increase unplanned babies overall …
Abortions without question:
profit from above demand, then profit again from selling the dead baby parts…
Gender confused youth…
Lobby against parental rights, sell services including hormone treatments to all ages without mental exams, increase suicides.
Not services:
No fertility or IVF treatments, no ADOPTIONS, no marriage/family psych counseling…
I don’t care how the left tries to spin it, people use abortion as a means of birth control more than they do to protect the life of the mother or to prevent pregnancies from incest or rape.
Don’t be fooled by more of their deceptive marketing.
Most US abortions have been performed on women who are already mothers.
Mind your own business and support freedom.
Is that because there’s a limit to how many in one family can collect welfare?
Or is because a single mom has discovered how difficult it is to raise, discipline and maintain a family when there’s no man around?
I don’t care how the liberals want to spin it, abortion should not be a means of birth control just because someone made a “mistake” or “made a bad decision.”
Yeah, we’ll preach that but stay out of other people’s decisions. Thought you all wanted freedom.
Leave it to Jizzman to continue condoning irresponsible acts; no wonder he supports the City Commission and their abuse of GRU profits.
I’m a Republican but I was a woman before I was a Republican.
My body, my rights. I’m voting YES on 4.
So snipping the spinal cord at 9 months is reproductive health???? How sad. How sick
That is only done in medical emergencies. No woman carries a baby to term to have an abortion of convenience in the 9th month. Use your head.
My choice: I feel the same about face masks and c19 shots. No vax passports! ….my body, my choice!
So many lemmings when it came to the big lie c19 pandemic…oh! People are dieing!
The WHO and the UN want the power to shut
Down the planet and implement radical left wing BS, reduce the population, and take away your freedom & Liberty for the greater good …
End world hunger, end homelessness, stop climate change, end private property rights, social justice score, programmable digital cash, health One where you have the same rights as a rat, insect, or tree, mandatory vaccine passport in order to engage in commerce…
“You will own nothing and be happy”.
Anything with the words sustainable development or cO2 regulation and climate change is Satan and control.
We all want to help the planet and the devil is a sweet talking liar hiding behind the environment to create the most advanced system of slavery ever devised by man. One world government and global totalitarianism…the prison planet…hell on earth.
Say no to mandatory vax passports. My body, my choice.
But it’s another entirely different little person’s body.
That little person depends on you, true.
Just like she or he would depend on you (or someone else) for many years to come if allowed to live. We all started life totally dependent upon our mothers, and for most, it was a gradual process of becoming more independent and less dependent upon mom.
Certainly, you can see that.
It is never right to kill another person because they get in the way of our plans. No matter how small that little person is …
Your Covid cooties are a danger to others, just like measles and smallpox you idiot. The situations are not comparable to a pregnancy.
How many times do you need to be told this obvious fact?
Put an aspirin between your legs then you won’t have to kill babies.
You may be a woman but you sure aren’t a Republican. Hold on, you may be as Republican as Liz Chaney, but you sure aren’t Conservative
So you, with the handle of “Marxist Idiots,” are the arbiter of who gets to be a Republican and who doesn’t?
I have news for you, millions of women who vote Republican have had abortions for a variety of reasons. Millions of men who vote Republican have partners who have had abortions with their full support.
But people like you tend to live one life “out loud” as they preach their beliefs and another life behind closed doors.
I’m confident there are millions of people who vote Democrat who own guns and enjoy hunting too.
I’m equally confident that the “majority” of reasons for those having abortions wasn’t because of incestuous relationships or rape.
I would like to know how many proponents for abortion would vote guilty if a mother and unborn child were murdered. Seems one can’t have a conviction for 2 counts if they are unwilling to recognize the life inside the womb.
Didn’t you know? To the party of Science, a baby becomes a separate human the moment it’s wanted. If it’s not wanted, it’s “my body, my choice.” To them, humanity is a magical status granted by the mother’s feelings.
7 👎🏻?
That explains those who are identity challenged.
Abortion lovers think the baby is just a Thang.
Indeed, and the writer is wrong. The amendment specifically maintains the state legislatures oversight.
He should mind his own business and support freedcom.
The males in the Legislature want to control women’s bodies. If they had let matters lie this wouldn’t be necessary. Over-punitive action by the Legislature begs for action by the voters.
And what about the women in the legislature that voted against abortion. Do they also want to control womens bodies?
Anyone who starts their rant with “sponsored by the radical left” is showing their true cards. The vast majority of Americans don’t endorse the 6-week timeline.
BE SURE, and vote no on your ballot.
Total BS scare tactics propaganda. Despite all the lies that have been told there have not been late term abortions past 20-22 weeks because no doctor would permit that or be involved in that unless it was to save the health of the mother. The Republicans want to scare you into not voting for this because they want to have the authority to make decisions for women instead of leaving the decisions to the woman and her doctors. Vote Yes and return the woman’s right to choose what happens to her body.
Margaret is absolutely incorrect. Late term abortions will be allowed if the mothers elects to do that. Shame on Margaret.
Dude, talk to a woman who’s had kids and ask them if it makes sense to carry a pregnancy to term and then have an abortion in the 9th month because they changed their mind. Of course not and no one would perform it. These occur only in medical emergencies.
Abortion is murder!
The mandatory vax passport is murder…the WHO will be in control of your health and reproduction with “Health One”.
I see I got a lot of thumbs down…look it up…it’s right out of the great reset playbook…all facts.
The Bible in Revelations makes mention of mark of beast where
You won’t be able to engage in commerce if you don’t have the mark…you won’t be able t in commerce without the clot shot mandatory vaccine passports if the devil has his way…
Don’t give up your inalienable rights…
It’s ok. If you were coerced into taking the shot…Lucifer, and the United Nations and the WHO & WEF put a nice spin on it that it’s
For the greater good and to save the planet…agenda 2030 is the devils plan.
Your body your rights, true. But what about the body rights of the unborn? Why do you get the choice to terminate his or her life. It’s their body.
Cost of abstinence – $0.
Cost of a condom/birth control pill – about $1.
Cost of a diaphragm – about $250.
Cost of an abortion – $500 – $2300, (procedure dependent).
Cost of parents holding a newborn baby – Priceless.
22 👎🏻?
That may explain some dependencies on government.
At the very least, it may explain the irresponsibility some have as a result of their actions.
I’ll be voting no on this admendment.
Hard decision…
i’m gonna side with freedom & liberty on this. My body, my choice.
Hopefully you never have to get an abortion, but if you need one, you should be able to have the medical
Procedure.
I don’t want the government forcing an abortion on me and I don’t want the government forcing a mandatory vax shot on me either. My body, my choice.
Bullwinkle: Should the government forbid you from having an abortion? Should the government force you to have a child?
Wow, I didn’t know the government was forcing people to have sex! Or did the baby take over the womb by force?
Abortion: Free, Legal, On Demand. Vote Yes on 4
In case anyone believed Margaret’s assertion that nobody gets abortions after 20-22 weeks, the truth is above.
“On Demand.”
(And Margaret, I guess, hasn’t read amendment 4 because there is no requirement for a doctor to be involved if it passes, just an undefined health care worker)
Vote no on 4. If you want abortion to be available later than 6 weeks, go through the legislature.
What worries me is the ease for some in getting handicap placards for their vehicles from doctors.
Just think how easy it could become if there isn’t some sort of oversight prior to killing an unborn child.
Some naive people here.
Elizabeth thinks abortions are great. And yes she is right: ON DEMAND!!!!! At 7 months the spinal cord is snipped resulting in death. And yet, Elizabeth loves it.How sad.
Margaret Sanger would be proud of Elizabeth. Yup, as Margaret Sanger wanted the riff raff taken care of
@ Mahurin
That’s a bunch of fascist republican baloney. Its worded like that so the right wing nut job politicians can’t “implement” it and water it down like they did with ex con restoration of the right to vote. They “implemented” it by requiring restitution and court fees to be paid before the vote is restored, making it it impossible because they can’t afford it. NO MORE IMPLEMENTATION. We’re on to you. Anyways, abortion is something only women should decide. It’s none of any mans business.
Voting YES on 4 because it’s abortion IS healthcare.
It’s all about me.
That’s what it’s about.
Actually- Viability is already defined in the FL Statutes (390.011)
“Viable” or “viability” means the stage of fetal development when the life of a fetus is sustainable outside the womb through standard medical measures.
“Health care provider” means a physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, a podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461, or an advanced practice registered nurse registered under s. 464.0123.
ALREADY DEFINED IN FL STATUTES. (381.026)
Last sentence states – This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
1. Definitions in statutes are irrelevant.
2. You’re just agreeing that the amendment requires NOTIFICATION, not CONSENT, which is what the letter points out. The supporters are relying on people to confuse one for the other, but they are not the same – consent comes before, notification can come at any time.
What is the reason that you think that definitions in statues are irrelevant?
And Consent is also in the statutes:
(5) PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIRED.—
(a) A physician must obtain written consent from a parent or legal guardian before performing or inducing the termination of a pregnancy of a minor.
1. The consenting parent or legal guardian shall provide to the physician a copy of a government-issued proof of identification. The parent or legal guardian shall certify in a signed, dated, and notarized document, initialed on each page, that he or she consents to the termination of the pregnancy of the minor. The document must include the following statement, which must precede the signature of the parent or guardian: “I, (insert name of parent or legal guardian) , am the (select “parent” or “legal guardian,” as appropriate) of (insert name of minor) and give consent for (insert name of physician) to perform or induce a termination of pregnancy on her. Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing statement and that the facts stated in it are true.” A copy of the parent’s or legal guardian’s government-issued proof of identification must be attached to the notarized document.
Definitions in statutes only apply to that statute or the Act that passes the statute. The same word can have different definitions in different statutes, which is exactly why there are definitions within the statute. Definitions in statutes don’t flow up to the constitution.
The parental consent and parental notification provisions would conflict because one is more strict than the other (consent is more strict), and the one in the constitution would override the statute.
You seem to labor under the misunderstanding that statutes and the constitution are at the same level. They are not, and seemingly small fixes will be difficult to make (unlike the current abortion statutes) because they will require another 60% vote of the population. It’s very unwise to pass “close enough” constitutional amendments, while sometimes it’s fine to take what you can get in a statute, knowing you can come back the next session and try again.