MIAMI – A petition signed by both Republican and Democratic voters proposes that Florida allow abortion access until roughly 24 weeks into pregnancy — the point of viability.
Anna Hochkammer said she is endorsing abortion rights via ballot initiatives through voters’ petitions as a way to protect a woman’s right to be able to decide to terminate her pregnancy.
“It’s not the right place for the government to intervene,” Hochkammer said on Sunday during This Week In South Florida.
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The former teacher, who serves as the vice mayor of Pinecrest, is the executive director of the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, an abortion rights group.
“This is about the health, the safety, and the dignity of women and girls,” Hockammer said adding this is why she believes everyone needs to support the amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion:
“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.”
The deadline to collect the over 890,000 signatures from at least 14 congressional districts required to get a state constitutional amendment initiative on the 2024 ballot is Feb. 1.
According to the Florida Division of Elections, the statewide total of valid signatures had surpassed 753,300 from 28 districts on Sunday afternoon.
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Hockammer said some voters signed the abortion rights-related petition because they saw it as a government interference issue and not an abortion rights issue.
“I think everybody underestimated exactly how common it is for Florida to reject abortion bans to want the government to mind its own business,” Hockammer said.
Floridians Protecting Freedom activists have been collecting the signatures of registered voters since May. Even after meeting the requirement, the Florida Supreme Court can exclude it from the ballot.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican primary candidate who has sided with the conservative pro-life movement, signed a six-week abortion ban into law after signing a 15-week ban.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
The Florida State Legislature is set to convene on Jan. 9 and adjourn on March 8. The Republican legislators serving in this session took office after the 2022 elections and won a 28-12 majority in the Florida State Senate and an 85-35 majority in the Florida State House.
More on This Week In South Florida
Interview with Florida Rep. Ashley Gantt
Interview with Florida Rep. Tom Fabricio
Interview with Florida Rep. Rosalind Osgood
Interview with Don Price
Watch the Dec. 17, 2023 episode of This Week In South Florida