Abortion rights clear big hurdle in Florida, but forced birthers are fighting dirty

Floridians have spoken: They want the opportunity to amend the state’s constitution to restore abortion rights. Floridians Protecting Freedom has gained enough voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot, despite forced-birth advocates’ “Decline to Sign” efforts.

Qualifying for the ballot is just the first step in restoring reproductive rights in Florida, however. The proposed constitutional amendment has to clear the state Supreme Court because the state’s Republican attorney general, Ashley Moody, has challenged the language of the proposed amendment and is fighting dirty.

Moody is trying to muddy the waters about what is fundamentally a medical issue—the point at which a fetus is viable outside the womb—and is lying about guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on the issue. Politico reports that Moody characterized ACOG’s position as saying “it is not always clear when a fetus is viable outside the womb, that it doesn’t depend solely on the length of gestation, and that it requires a ‘nuanced’ determination by doctors using several factors.” ACOG is having none of that, filling a brief with the court to make it clear that Moody was citing their work “in support of a claim that is inconsistent with that guidance.”

“ACOG’s guidance on viability addresses the fact that opponents of abortion are using the term in inappropriate ways intended to limit access to essential reproductive health care,” the organization wrote.”Indeed, this case provides a clear example of the reasons that ACOG published its guidance and opposes political interference in the practice of medicine based on ideology.”