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Jeb Bush Endorses Florida Amendment 6

World Affairs Council of Philadelphia/Flickr

Jeb Bush, our former governor who only occasionally steps into the political fray, has publicly endorsed a controversial proposed constitutional amendment on Florida's ballot.

He announced his full-throated support for Amendment Six. If passed, the amendment would prohibit public funding of abortions and removes a current state constitutional right to privacy.

The Orlando Sentinel reports,

Bush noted he backed passage of an earlier amendment that allowed legislation requiring parental notice when a girl is seeking an abortion. “With Amendment 6, Florida has the opportunity to restore parental consent for an abortion involving a minor child,” Bush said. The proposed amendment would say that the state constitution can’t be interpreted to create broader rights to an abortion than those in the U.S. constitution.

While Florida has an expressed right to privacy, the U.S. Constitution does not.

Florida's right to privacy has been under fire for years by groups seeking a law in Florida that requires the consent of a parent for a minor's abortion. The state's right to privacy currently stands in the way of such a law.

However, opponents of Amendment Six say removing a constitutional right is a step too far.

Currently, federal law also prohibits any state from publicly funding abortions except for cases of rape and incest. 

The Catholic Church, including the Archdiocese of Miami, has spent a lot of money on a campaign supporting the amendment.

Groups such as Planned Parenthood, however, have raised over $2 million dollars in an effort to defeat Amendment Six.

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