At Sunday Masses across Florida, Catholic priests have taken some time this election season to diverge from their typical homilies to try to convince parishioners to vote no on Amendment 4.
The Rev. Rafal Ligenza recently spoke to parishioners about the abortion amendment at St. Joseph in Bradenton.
“Even if you think abortion is OK in some circumstances, don’t be duped into voting for an amendment with such misleading language,” said Ligenza.
This election, Florida voters will decide whether to undo abortion restrictions put in place by the state Legislature this year—and instead enshrine abortion rights into the state Constitution.
The Rev. Tom Carzon tackled the amendment topic recently at San Pedro Catholic Church in North Port.
“So is it difficult to talk about? Yes, but that's also our mission,” said Carzon.
The Catholic Church is encouraging priests, like Carzon, to talk to the estimated 2 million Florida Catholics about what the church considers a spiritual obligation to protect life from conception to natural death.
A video of Bishop Frank Dewane outlines the church’s strong opposition to Amendment 4. Dewane leads the Diocese of Venice — which manages Catholic churches in Southwest Florida. The video has been played during Masses and published in social media.
“Some have said the church has no place in politics. It is true that the church would never suggest for a particular candidate, however, in this election year it is critical to remember that shaping the moral character of a society is a responsibility of people of faith,” Dewayne says in the video.
But the diocese knows this won’t be an easy win. Despite the church’s opposition to abortion they know the opinions of Catholic adults are in line with most Americans. Six in 10 U.S. Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to Pew Research.
But the church believes most people want some limits on abortions. So ads and campaign language against Amendment 4 warn that the amendment fails to define terms like viability and that, according to the church, would lead to few regulations on when the procedure could be performed — something many legal experts disagree with.
“This amendment is not a good answer, regardless of where anyone stands on the issue of abortion,” said Carzon. “We're speaking about an amendment that is extreme and deceptive.”
Other church denominations have also united against the measure. Groups fighting the measure have received support from Gov. Ron DeSantis and other allies through conference calls which have provided strategy and talking points.
Both sides of this debate are passionate about their cause and they’re backing their beliefs with cash.
The groups leading the charge for and against the amendment have spent well over $100 million on their campaigns this election season.
Still, Amendment 4 supporters have significantly outraised their opponents in campaign dollars — allowing them to purchase more ads and build a bigger media campaign.
One media campaign trying to sway voters is a video series that includes Kathy Mayo, president of the Lee County chapter of the National Organization for Women. Mayo is featured in a video conversation with her daughter, Giuliana. The series highlights people’s reasons for campaigning on women’s rights — including Amendment 4. Mayo shares how a gang rape in her 20s eventually inspired her to get more involved with issues like reproductive rights.
“So we wanted to show that it's not just one generation. It’s a lot of generations that are concerned about what's happening in our country and about the threats to democracy and the threats to women's rights,” says Mayo.
On the video, Mayo’s daughter talks about having an abortion in her 30s — and her worries that women won’t be able to have the access she had.
“It’s really scary. It’s really scary to think that this can all go away. Having needed an abortion and gotten help through Planned Parenthood. I just wouldn’t want anybody to be forced to have a kid,” said Giuliana Mayo.
But Democrats know that to get this amendment passed, they’ll need to split the ticket in a state that has voted solidly Republican in several election cycles — a party that traditionally supports abortion restrictions.
Mayo’s group regularly joins dozens of other groups in events to try to win over one person at a time. They hope outreach events like a recent one aimed for students at Florida SouthWestern State College will gain voters who might not know how abortion rights have recently changed statewide.
