Knowledge about Florida's abortion restrictions is critical because voters will decide in November whether they want to protect access to the procedure up to viability (considered to be around 24 weeks). Women with lower incomes and those who identify as "pro-life" are less informed about abortion laws, according to a KFF survey of 512 Florida women between the ages of 18 and 49.
KFF surveyed the women from May 13 to June 18, and the six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1.
The findings don't surprise Lynda Bell, president of Florida Right to Life, who hopes to turn voters against Amendment 4. The abortion-rights proposal needs 60 percent voter approval to protect access to the procedure through the state constitution. She recognizes that people might not be as plugged into the changes in legislation if they're concentrating on making ends meet.
A Lot of Work to Do
"This just shows me that we have a lot more work to do," Bell said in a phone interview with Florida Phoenix. "Our educational aspect of Florida Right to Life, we are constantly trying to push out the news and expand our database so that we can get to more and more people. We in the pro-life community, all the pro-life organizations, we need to continue working and pushing and telling women the truth about what's happening in the state of Florida."As PACs stack cash on both sides of the abortion-rights amendment, the Florida Access Network is struggling to help people seek abortions inside and outside of Florida. The organization provides financial assistance, including transportation, lodging, food, and other expenses.
FAN has a monthly cap of around $15,000 to help people pay for abortions, but just a week into August, it has already distributed $11,000, said Ginnely Carrasco, FAN's director for client services, in a phone interview with the Phoenix.
Lack of education extends to women's knowledge of abortion resources. One-third of Florida women don't know where to get an abortion or where to find information about it, according to the survey. The rate of uncertainty was higher (45 percent) for Hispanic women.
"I can vouch for that because this was me. Having had mine back in 2008, I didn't know that [FAN] existed," Carrasco said.
Finding clinics online that perform abortions has become increasingly difficult since Carrasco had her abortion, she said, citing the rise of "crisis pregnancy centers," which offer pregnancy medical services but not abortions.
"So many CPCs, like crisis pregnancy centers, have popped up since then that it has made it that much more difficult for clients to be able to discern and differentiate between a real clinic and one of these crisis pregnancy centers that purposely mislead people," she said.
For both FAN and Florida Right to Life, social media outreach and community engagement play an important role in educating people. Bell said she's visited churches and Republican clubs in cities such as Miami and Jacksonville to move voters against Amendment 4.
Majority of Florida Women Support Abortion Access
Despite the gaps in knowledge, 72 percent of women surveyed responded that they think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Even 51 percent of Republican women said abortion should be legal in all or most cases.In Florida, someone can get an abortion until 15 weeks of pregnancy if the pregnancy is a result of rape, incest, or human trafficking. However, the person seeking the abortion needs to provide documentation that they were victims of those crimes, such as police reports. Abortions can only happen beyond 15 weeks if the fetus has a fatal abnormality to save the life of the pregnant woman or if the pregnancy could impair a major bodily function.
However, even if patients meet these exceptions, doctors might be reluctant to provide abortion services.
A 2024 KFF survey found that 72 percent of women ages 18 to 49 in Florida think abortion should be legal.
Florida Phoenix graphic
Bell said the data from the KFF survey showing women support access to abortion concerned her a lot.
"If you take that same group of people and you say, 'Do you believe in abortion to through birth?' If you were to rephrase that question, 'Do you believe that we should be able to be aborted in the seventh, eighth, and ninth month?' You're going to have a flip on that because we've seen that," she said.
"If you were to flip that question, 'Do you believe that there should be taxpayer funding of abortion?' That would flip. 'Do you think that parents should not be able to consent to their minor children's abortions?' That would also flip towards our way."
Late Abortion Is Rare
Abortions beyond 21 weeks of gestation accounted for 0.4 percent of total abortions in the state in 2021, according to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Florida covers abortions through Medicaid in cases of life endangerment, rape, and incest, as required under federal law. But opponents of Amendment 4 claim its passage would lead to legal challenges demanding Medicaid coverage for abortions; such a case is pending in Michigan.
Additionally, the language of the amendment that seeks to limit government interference with abortion makes an exception for the statute that requires notification of the abortion to a minor's parent or guardian, although Florida now requires notification and consent unless a judge deems the minor mature enough to decide for themselves.
The survey and a recent poll from the University of North Florida showing that 69 percent of Floridians support Amendment 4 has made FAN's Ginnely Carrasco optimistic about the outcome in November. However, another poll from Florida Atlantic University released on Wednesday shows Amendment 4 with 56 percent support, falling short of the 60 percent threshold.
"I feel like our generation is not going to let this happen, especially without a fight," Carrasco said.
Editor's note: New Times occasionally shares articles from Florida Phoenix, part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network. Contact Florida Phoenix at [email protected] or follow the site on Facebook and X.
