A coalition entitled “Floridians Protecting Freedom” launched a citizen-led ballot initiative campaign to give women the right to seek abortions up to viability. Florida voters want women to have the chance to ensure that their personal medical decisions are theirs and theirs alone to make. The League of Women Voters of Florida Board of Directors has voted to support this effort.

The decision of whether or not to have an abortion belongs to Floridians, their families, and those they trust — this campaign is an opportunity to further enshrine those protections in our state constitution.

The League supports the myriad ways that our reproductive rights allies are working to educate citizens and lawmakers about the harm that a six week abortion ban will cause all Floridians. The ban will cause death, complications, fear to treat medical conditions, desperation and frustration when a woman has lost the ability to control her destiny and her personhood. The ban also has a great impact on a woman's ability to participate in civic matters. For women, a right to choose is a fundamental right that impacts all civic decisions. Without the ability to make reproductive decisions for one’s own body, women and those who can become pregnant cannot participate equally in our democracy. The League stands ready to assist our reproductive rights allies just as we did in testifying against the six and 15-week ban bills and our involvement with the recent #OccupyTallahassee peaceful protest.

Florida’s recently passed six-week abortion ban goes against the will of Floridians across the political spectrum. For more than a decade, the people of Florida have made it clear in polling, and with their votes, that they don’t want the government intruding on their personal medical decisions.

The “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion” will transfer power from politicians back into the hands of Floridians. Year after year Florida lawmakers have implemented increasingly drastic restrictions on abortion access — even though Floridians don’t support them.

Passage of this constitutional amendment will establish an explicit right to abortion and ensure that Floridians’ reproductive freedom is codified into law and no longer subject to the whims of extremist politicians and judges.

To learn more about this initiative, visit floridiansprotectingfreedom.com.