MIAMI — Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in South Florida Monday called "Doctors Against Amendment 4" to urge voters to vote "No" on the abortion amendment.
The governor spoke on the ballot issue from Coral Gables as early in-person voting got underway across the state. He was joined by about a dozen doctors on stage who are part of a coalition of hundreds of healthcare professionals across the Sunshine State voicing their concerns about Amendment 4.
The text of Amendment 4, titled "The Amendment to Limit Government Interference With Abortion," states:
"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."
Currently, abortion is legal in Florida up to six weeks of pregnancy. That dropped from 15 weeks when DeSantis signed the "heartbeat bill" in 2023.
The first part of the amendment DeSantis addressed at the press conference was the role parents play in abortions requested by minors.
Amendment 4's text states it would not change Article 10, Section 22 of the Florida constitution, which states a parent or guardian must be notified before a minor's pregnancy is terminated.
DeSantis said the amendment goes against the Florida statute known as the "Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act." This statute requires not only parental notification, but also parental consent of abortions for minors.
DeSantis says the omission of "consent" in the amendment is a "bait and switch."
"They know that's bad, they know parents don't like that, so what they're doing in the amendment is substituting 'notification,' but that is not consent," DeSantis said.
DeSantis also called the amendment a "pandora's box for bad policies," and said a "Yes" on Amendment 4 would make Florida "one of the most radical abortion jurisdictions, not just in the United States, but anywhere in the world."
Doctor Steven Christie was one of the speakers following DeSantis. He said Amendment 4 isn't a religious issue for the doctors on stage, but rather one of science.
"The physicians standing here beside me right now, they oppose Amendment 4 based on the science and the law and social justice concerns and morality and ethics, and because we have all taken an oath to do no harm to our patients," he said. "We don't oppose this amendment simply because of our various religions."
Christie added that his stance against Amendment 4 isn't "us versus them," or "religious vs. non religious," but rather "an issue of safety and common sense."
DeSantis and Christie's comments can be watched in the video player above. Below is a guide to all amendments on the Florida and Georgia ballots.