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Supporters of abortion rights in Florida will air ads during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate featuring a mother who says her life would have been endangered by the state’s current ban.
The “Yes on 4” campaign said Tuesday that the ads would run in major Florida media markets on the issue, which has become central to many voters ahead of the November election.
Reproductive freedom advocates have been highlighting the consequences of Republicans’ efforts to halt abortions, and highlight how even bans with language aimed at protecting the lives of mothers often fail to do so.
The ads feature a woman who needed to have an abortion and lifesaving-cancer treatments after a brain tumor diagnosis in 2022. Such a difficult situation would have been complicated by Florida’s six-week abortion ban today.
In the ad, the woman identified as Caroline, says: “The doctors knew that if I did not end my pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life, and my daughter would lose her mom. Florida has now banned abortion… even in cases like mine. Amendment Four is gonna protect women like me.
In a statement, she added: “My abortion allowed me more time to be a mother to my daughter and a wife to my husband. If I were diagnosed today, Florida’s extreme abortion ban would force me to choose between my health and being there for my child. No one should have to make that choice.”
Florida’s six-week abortion ban is one of the strictest in the nation and is enforced at a time before many women know they are pregnant.
It came into effect this past May after the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs Wade in 2022, which had guaranteed the right to an abortion across the states.
Florida’s six-week ban, like its 12-week predecessor, has exceptions for women whose lives are endangered by their pregnancies, but hospitals and medical providers have been hesitant to test such exceptions.
Florida is one of several states with reproductive rights on the ballot this November. Amendment 4 would codify the right to an abortion at any point before fetal viability, and prevent laws in the state from restricting access before that point. It would also prevent laws from interfering with abortions after that point in the pregnancy if necessary to “protect the patient’s health”.
Republican presidential candidate and Florida resident Donald Trump had come out against the state’s six-week abortion ban, saying it takes place too early in the pregnancy.
However, he has also said that he does not support the campaign to pass Amendment 4 either.
His running mate, JD Vance, supports a national abortion ban. Vance is likely to be questioned on his stance at tonight’s debate with Walz as well as a litany of comments he has made degrading women and Americans without children.
The two vice presidential candidates, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Vance, are set for their only debate Tuesday night on CBS News. It will be moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan. The program is set for 9pm Eastern Time in New York City.
