In a gated community in Lakewood Ranch, a few dozen people mingle in a large living room, sipping wine and noshing on shrimp cocktail, when one of their hosts, Carol Whitmore, a former Republican Manatee County commissioner and one of the founders of Conservative Women for Freedom, invites them to take a seat.
"Hey everybody can you hear me? We're going to start. Come on in, we’re going to have a chat."
This mixer is to encourage guests to speak openly about why they support Amendment 4, which would undo Florida's six-week abortion ban.
"We may not agree with the Democratic platform, but we do agree on this issue," Whitmore said to the group.
The women and a couple of men listen as Dr. Marion Pandiscio, an obstetrician, talks about ectopic pregnancies and other pregnancy complications that cause harm.
The League of Women Voters offer tips on how to talk with friends and family about the amendment. Like countering arguments about how its passage would increase late term abortions.
"In fact, last year in Florida, there were zero abortions performed in the third trimester," said Nancy Hughes of The League of Women Voters of Manatee County. "In 2022, zero, and in 2021, zero," she continued. "So, if someone says that Amendment 4, if passed will allow abortions up until birth, it's simply not true."
Whitmore then shares her own story.
"In 1973, I had an abortion," she said. "First time I had ever had sex. I was on birth control, and I got pregnant. I was young and in high school. I don't regret my decision."
Whitmore first spoke about having an abortion during a 2021 public meeting of the Manatee County Commission. At the time, a fellow commissioner was attempting to get the board to pass a local abortion ban.
"There's a lot of stigma against people that have abortions and I said OK, it’s time for me to come really public and I did."
Whitmore says she knew there would be consequences for speaking out. She lost her seat in deeply red Manatee County in 2022. This is where Donald Trump won 57% of the 2020 presidential vote and where a public park is named after Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Now, she's creating a space for people who feel increasingly uncomfortable with political polarization. Suzanne Kouri, a recent transplant to Florida, is one of them.
"Coming from Massachusetts, down here, my Massachusetts friends were all like, you gotta keep your mouth shut, just be careful," she said of Florida's political climate.
But, Kouri, an independent, says she felt welcome in this group of mostly Republican women. "But I needed a safe place because it just hasn't felt safe out on the street, bringing this topic up," she said.
As a nurse, Kouri said she believes abortion is health care. "This shouldn't be a political issue," she said.
If Amendment 4 is approved, it ensures that "no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability. That's when a fetus can survive outside the uterus, around 24 weeks of gestation.
But Florida's ballot initiative will pose a test no other abortion proposal has faced in other states since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
As Whitmore tells the gathering in Lakewood Ranch, state law sets the threshold for passage at 60%, rather than a simple majority.
"The reason why you all are here tonight is you've got to pass the message to your friends," she tells the crowd as the presentation wraps up. "You've got to get them out there to vote because if we don't get the independents and the Republicans to vote, we are not going to win."
A recent poll from the University of North Florida shows Amendment 4 just reaching that supermajority threshold, with 60% indicating a vote of “yes,” and 32% who said “no.” Eight percent of respondents said they weren't sure yet on how they will vote.
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