The Florida state government’s actions to defeat an abortion rights referendum shows what theocracy looks like: a government marshaling its powerful resources for religious purposes.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Christian nationalist and devout Catholic, is misusing his executive powers in unethical and unconstitutional ways to try to defeat Amendment 4, which seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. He has used his agencies to place false and misleading information on the abortion question on the Nov. 5 ballot itself, on a state website and even apparently to send police to harass individuals who have signed the petition for the amendment.
Florida is ground zero in the Southern battle on abortion rights. Florida, even with a 15-week ban in place, was a beacon in the South. Until a six-week ban took effect last year, abortion clinics there were helping nearly 10,000 out-of-state patients in addition to Floridians.
Determined citizens organized as Floridians Protecting Freedom immediately went to work to muster the whopping 911,000 signatures needed to get an initiative on the ballot to protect abortion rights. They now face the daunting challenge of needing 60 percent of voters to approve the initiative — a higher margin needed than for any abortion rights referendum passed so far. And ever since the signatures were certified in February, referendum organizers have encountered dirty pool from the governor and anti-abortion groups, and have been embroiled in legal fights to protect the ballot initiative.
DeSantis has raised more than $6 million for his Florida Freedom Fund, a PAC headed by his chief of staff. He’s held official events against Amendment 4 and used his state agencies to oppose, threaten or question Amendment 4’s legality. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of Floridians Protecting Freedom in September, charging that the governor is using taxpayer money to spread false and misleading statements, and violating state laws that bar government workers from engaging in political advocacy.
“The government is trying every dirty trick they can to distract Floridians,” says Floridian Protecting Freedom spokesperson Lauren Brenzel. This includes outright intimidation. Retired attorney Isaac Menasche, 71, from Fort Myers, reported that a plainclothes officer with a badge knocked on his door because he said Menasche’s signature on the referendum petition did not match his signature on his driver’s license. Menasche wrote on Facebook that he had signed the petition and was left “shaken” because the investigator produced about 10 pages with his personal information.
The underhanded actions that the state of Florida has engaged in include:
• A state panel adding misleading fiscal information onto the ballot question itself.
• The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration creating a website and advertising to oppose Amendment 4.
• The Florida Department of Health sending cease-and-desist letters to TV stations that broadcast a pro-referendum ad featuring a Florida woman’s testimony. Reason prevailed when a federal judge called the threat unconstitutional. The employee who signed the letters has resigned, but said the threats were actually written by counsel for DeSantis.
• The Florida Department of State publishing a report charging Amendment 4 organizers with “widespread petition fraud.”
The litigation over the issue continues.
Meanwhile, clergy and Christian nationalist groups are opposing Amendment 4 from the pulpit. Liberty Counsel Action held a training session for Hispanic pastors in August on how to use their pulpits against the amendment. Catholic bishops have donated “hundreds of thousands of dollars to the anti-Amendment 4 effort,” according to the New York Times. At a religious gathering attracting 500 people on Sunday, Oct. 20, in Ave Maria, Lt. Gov. Jeanette M. Nunez told the crowd, “We cannot go to church and pray like Christians and turn around and vote like atheists.”
The Florida Baptist Convention put out a public statement opposing Amendment 4 in partnership with an anti-abortion group, One More Child. Religious groups accounted for more than a third of the total contributions to Florida Voters Against Extremism PAC, the primary group opposing the referendum. “Catholic organizations and churches accounted for almost $834,000 alone, while Florida Baptist organizations contributed around $10,500,” the Miami Herald reports.
The Florida abortion referendum is one of 10 across the country seeking to protect women from latter-day Inquisitors seeking to deprive them of control over their own bodies and lives.
The tragic revelation that a Texas immigrant and mother of a 2-year-old died unnecessarily in 2021 — after waiting an unconscionable 40 hours for emergency care for her miscarriage — comes a week before the crucial Nov. 5 election. Let’s hope Florida voters overcome the disinformation to ensure reproductive freedom once again, and that voters in Arizona, Nebraska, Missouri and South Dakota, which have bans or partial bans, will likewise vote YES to protect abortion rights. Voters in the other states with abortion referenda have the opportunity to ensure abortion care stays legal within their state borders.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.