The Big Story 

A ballot initiative to enshrine abortion protections into Florida’s constitution would need support from 60 percent of voters in order to pass.

© AP

The “yes” campaign has raked in cash in recent months, giving it a massive financial advantage over the opposition with days until votes are counted, The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel reports.

But abortion rights advocates are running into a political buzz saw as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his allies in the administration deploy all levers of government power to try to stop the amendment from passing.

The political group Floridians Protecting Freedom has raised more than $100 million for the measure since it launched in April 2023, including $17.2 million in a single week in early October. 

Meanwhile, the political committee launched by DeSantis to oppose the measure has raised only about $6.3 million total. 

In recent weeks, the opposition has gone all in to stop the amendment from passing. And it may be working. 

• A Republican-controlled state panel added a financial statement beneath the question on the November ballot, stating the amendment could cost the state money because of lawsuits.
  
  
• The state agency in charge of running Florida’s Medicaid program launched a website attacking the amendment. At least three public agencies have aired television and radio ads against it.
  
  
• The state Department of Health threatened local television stations that had run an ad supporting the amendment.
  
  
• A state election police unit visited residents’ homes as part of a fraud investigation into the signature-gathering process months after the measure was approved. 

Backers of the amendment say DeSantis’s heavy-handed efforts are a brazen misuse of taxpayer funds and show just how high the stakes are in the state, where DeSantis signed a law last year making abortion illegal after about six weeks. 

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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