Catholic groups fight abortion measure in Florida

TALLAHASSEE — The Catholic fraternity Knights of Columbus and the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops donated hundreds of thousands of dollars this month to defeat a ballot proposal that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

According to a state campaign finance database, the Knights of Columbus sent $500,000 to Florida Voters Against Extremism, a political committee fighting the apparent Amendment 4 on the Nov. 5 ballot. Meanwhile, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops donated $100,000 to the committee this month and previously donated nearly $172,000 in cash and in-kind support. Also that month, the Archdiocese of Miami made an in-kind donation of $62,000, after previously contributing about $322,000 in cash, according to the database.

The proposed constitutional amendment states, among other things, that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict an abortion before it is viable or when necessary to protect the health of the patient, as determined by the patient's health care provider.”

The political committee Floridians Protecting Freedom launched a campaign to pass the amendment last year after Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill that largely prevents abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops has long advocated for stricter abortion restrictions in Tallahassee.