Archdiocese of Miami Works to Defeat Florida Abortion Amendment | EWTN News In Depth August 30, 2024

a wrong. It's a huge wrong. >> The Archbishop of Miami weighs in with the Catholic response to Florida Amendment four, an attempt in this fall's November election to change the state constitution to allow for abortion through fetal viability and beyond. Welcome to EWTN News In Depth. I'm Catherine Hadro. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, more than two summers ago, it shifted the abortion debate to the states. Ballot initiatives, which allow voters to shape their state's abortion laws, have become the latest front in the battle for life. And this November, a record ten states will vote on abortion. This map from Catholic News Agency and EWTN pro-life weekly shows where abortion is on the ballot. States in yellow will vote on whether to amend their state constitutions to include a so-called right to abortion. Arizona. Colorado. Florida. Maryland Missouri. Montana. Nebraska. Nevada. New York and South Dakota. Nebraska will also vote on a second ballot initiative, which would add a 12 week abortion limit to the state's constitution. These ballot initiatives follow numerous consecutive losses for the pro-life movement at the polls, the first one in Kansas, the Value Them Both amendment sought to reverse the state's so-called constitutional right to abortion and allow lawmakers to pass pro-life laws. Many viewed the vote as a litmus test for future abortion measures . And in August of 2022, Kansas voters rejected the pro-life amendment. It was the first significant loss for the pro-life movement after its major victory in the overturning of Roe v Wade. Since then, pro-life Americans have seen five more losses for life at the ballot box. California, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont all amended their constitutions to include a so-called right to abortion. In Kentucky, a traditionally red state with strong pro-life laws, voters rejected an initiative that would have amended the state constitution to say there is no right to abortion. With ten states taking up abortion this November, pro-life advocates see another uphill battle to protect the unborn. But some are looking to Florida as an opportunity to flip the script on abortion amendments and land a significant win in the post-roe landscape. Mark Irons takes us to the Sunshine State and shows how the Catholic Church is working to defend life . >> Abortion will be on a number of state ballots this November, and one consequential amendment will be decided in Florida. >> I think people should have the right to do an abortion whenever they choose . >> I think you're killing an innocent human . >> We spoke to voters throughout South Florida . If amendment four passes in November, it would remove the state's current ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and an unborn child could be aborted much later during his or her development. The proposed state constitutional amendment reads in part 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. >> I mean, that kind of takes rights away from the child, which is unborn. >> Justin Tavares of Lake Worth, Florida, is critical of amendment four and will vote against it. >> I will vote no. Yes, I will vote no. >> In Miami , Isabella Davila voiced her support for abortion. >> Everyone here should have the right to, you know , decide what's happening with their body. >> It's their body. You know, their body, their choice. >> But in Palm Beach , Abigail Michael is pushing back against that type of description of the issue. >> I don't think it's really my body, my choice, because there is another human in there. >> In South Florida, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami provides the voice of the Catholic Church, which , he adds, respects the view of science that life begins at conception, and his pro-life message isn't just for Catholics throughout the state. >> Abortion is not a religious issue . It's a human rights issue. >> What does the state of Florida need to know about amendment four? >> Well, it's a very radical amendment. And so what they need to know is to vote no on four. >> 60% of Florida voters would have to vote yes on amendment four for the measure to pass. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed the ban on abortion after six weeks, has warned the passage of amendment four would mean the end of the pro-life movement in Florida to eliminate all pro-life protections, parental consent for abortion and have abortion all the way up to the moment of birth. >> Now, that is wrong. >> In the Sunshine State abortion law will be decided by the people. >> We brought that issue back to the states, and now the states are voting on it. >> Many are wondering how one well-known Floridian will vote on the amendment. Donald Trump's Mar a Lago residence is across the water here in Palm Beach, Florida. The former president says abortion is an issue that each state should decide on. And Thursday, during an NBC news interview, Trump was asked how he would vote on amendment four. >> There's an abortion related amendment on the ballot to overturn the six week ban in Florida. How are you going to vote on that? Well, I think the six week is too short. >> It has to be more time. And so that's and I've told them that I want more weeks. >> So you'll vote in favor of the amendment. >> I'm voting that I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. >> Soon after that, his campaign released a statement saying President Trump has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida. He simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short. Deanna maloney, a Trump supporter from Delray Beach, hopes even those who think abortion should be allowed at certain times during pregnancy will object to unrestricted abortion access. >> I do believe that women have the right to choose, but I also think there has to be a limit to that choice. Amendment four no voting no on amendment four. >> The Archdiocese of Miami has rolled out a comprehensive campaign asking voters to do the same. >> Vote no on amendment four by eliminating parental consent. >> Amendment four would make abortion the only procedure, the only medical procedure that a minor child can access in Florida. It's ambiguous. >> It's deceptive to leave viability undefined gives complete freedom for elective abortion through the entire pregnancy. >> And Archbishop Wenski says if people are looking for more reasons to vote no on the amendment. >> I told them that last year in this state, 80,000 abortions took place , and those are 80,000 reasons why we should vote against four in November. >> Mark Irons , EWTN News in depth . >> To get a