By Janis Fontaine
On a hot Wednesday in August, more than 200 people gathered in the gym at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach to talk about politics. The lively crowd came from other local Catholic churches — St. Jude and St. Joan of Arc in Boca Raton and Holy Name of Jesus in West Palm Beach — to hear the program on Florida’s Amendment 4 hosted by the Respect Life Ministry.
Amendment 4, which will be on the ballot on Nov. 5, is a 49-word amendment that would change the state’s existing abortion law, which bans abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. Titled “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion,” it 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. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
Father Dennis Gonzales welcomed the four speakers on the program: Sara Johnson, the statewide grassroots director of the “Vote No on 4” initiative; Dr. Anthony Dardano, medical director at Delray Medical Center; the Rev. Timothy Cusick, academic dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary; and Mary Rodriguez, the former program director for Birthline/Lifeline.
Johnson spoke about her campaign that would be traveling the state pushing its message. Dardano spoke in detail about what happens in the hospital when an abortion happens on its own — what we usually call a miscarriage. Cusick spoke about ethics in medicine. Rodriguez spoke about the rewarding work she did at Birthline, which offers free pregnancy care services to clients who meet basic criteria at five locations in Palm Beach County. A woman coping with an unplanned pregnancy can access counseling regarding adoption and alternatives to pregnancy termination.
For this panel, any loosening of abortion regulations is in direct contradiction with their goal of a full abortion ban. Guests came to understand what the amendment meant so they could encourage others to vote “No” too.
The amendment will require a 60% “Yes” to pass. In a Florida Atlantic University survey prior to the Aug. 20 primary election, 56% of those responding supported the amendment and 23% of Floridians were undecided. The poll showed only 21% were “solidly opposed.”
A July 30 poll by the University of North Florida said 69% of those surveyed said they’d vote yes compared to only 23% saying no.
The materials distributed at the St. Vincent Ferrer event — at least five tables were covered with pamphlets and printouts, bumper stickers and buttons — were enough to convince some undecided voters to side with the audience and oppose the proposed amendment.
The Catholic Church is fully behind this movement and is investing significant time and money into defeating the amendment. So is Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis told the Tampa Bay Times that passing the amendment would mean the “end of the pro-life movement” in Florida and that he has raised millions to defeat it.
Amendment 4 is sponsored by Floridians Protecting Freedom, which describes itself as “a statewide campaign of allied organizations and concerned citizens working together to protect Floridians’ access to reproductive health care and defend the right to bodily autonomy.”
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told the Catholic News Agency that “abortion is not a religious issue, it’s a human rights issue.” And it isn’t a red/blue issue either. FAU reported that Democrats are largely united with 80% in support of the amendment, plus 35% of Republicans. A closer look found 59% of independents, 62% of voters ages 18-49, and 59% of women polled support the amendment. It is also supported by the ACLU of Florida, Planned Parenthood, Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, Florida Rising and others.
The amendment has been criticized because it fails to define several important terms, which could make it difficult for some pro-choice voters to get on board. What is the definition of “viable”? Who qualifies as a “health care professional”?
Moral questions — such as, is abortion murder? — can provoke soul-searching. The Bible doesn’t say that abortion is or is not a sin. As biblical scholar Melanie A. Howard wrote in 2022: “Christians on both sides of the partisan divide have appealed to any number of texts to assert that their particular brand of politics is biblically backed. However, if they claim the Bible specifically condemns or approves of abortion, they are skewing the textual evidence to fit their position.” (www.religionnews.com/2022/07/25/what-the-bible-actually-says-about-abortion-may-surprise-you/)
U.S. bishops wrote in November about the role of the Catholic Church in American political life, including in debates over the sanctity of life.
“Conscience is a means by which one listens to God and discerns how to act in accordance with the truth," the bishops wrote. "The truth is something we receive, not something we make.”
Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423@outlook.com
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