Florida Amendment 2, Constitutional Right of Privacy Measure (1980)

Florida Amendment 2
Election date November 4, 1980
Topic Constitutional rights
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Florida Amendment 2 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Florida on November 4, 1980. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported adding a section to Article I of the Florida Constitution to establish a constitutional right of privacy.

A "no" vote opposed adding a section to Article I of the Florida Constitution to establish a constitutional right of privacy.

Election results

Florida Amendment 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,722,987	60.60%
No		1,120,302	39.40%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Aftermath

In re T.W., a Minor (1989)

The Florida Supreme Court decided the case In re T.W., a Minor in 1989, holding that Amendment 2 included a right to abortion before viability. The state Supreme Court's ruling said that Amendment 2, which established a state constitutional right to privacy, "is clearly implicated in a woman's decision of whether or not to continue her pregnancy."

In 2004, the Florida State Legislature referred Amendment 1, which required parental notification for a minor to receive an abortion, to the ballot. Amendment 1 exempted the notification from the constitutional right to privacy. Voters approved Amendment 1. In 2011, the state legislature referred Amendment 6 to the ballot for November 6, 2012. Amendment 6 contained a provision that stated, "This constitution may not be interpreted to create broader rights to an abortion than those contained in the United States Constitution." Voters rejected Amendment 6.

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida v. State of Florida (2024)

On April 1, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court issued a 6-1 ruling that receded from In re T.W., a Minor (1989). Justice Jamie Rutland Grosshans wrote the majority's opinion, which said, "we recede from our prior decisions in which—relying on reasoning the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected—we held that the Privacy Clause guaranteed the right to receive an abortion through the end of the second trimester." The opinion said that there is a "tenuous connection between 'privacy' and abortion—an issue that, unlike other privacy matters, directly implicates the interests of both developing human life and the pregnant woman." Justice Grosshans wrote that, in 1980, "even if it is possible that voters would have understood the Privacy Clause to protect certain individual autonomy interests, it is by no means clear that those interests would have included the controversial subject of abortion, which uniquely involves the interests of prenatal life."

Justice Jorge Labarga dissented, writing, "The majority concludes that the public understanding of the right of privacy did not encompass the right to an abortion. However, the dominance of Roe in the public discourse makes it inconceivable that in 1980, Florida voters did not associate abortion with the right of privacy."

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was follows:

“

Proposing the creation of Section 23 of Article I of the State Constitution establishing a constitutional right of privacy.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article I, Florida Constitution

The amendment added a new section, Section 23, to the Florida Constitution to establish a constitutional right of privacy. The following underlined text was added

SECTION 23. Right of Privacy. —Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life except as otherwise provided herein. This section shall not be construed to limit the public's right of access to public records and meetings as provided by law.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Rep. Curtis Kiser

Arguments

• State Representative and amendment sponsor Curtis Kiser (R): "I don't see what's in it for the gays. ... Too many times, these overzealous bureaucrats want more information than they need to have on drivers' licenses, loan applications, and the like. This is a bold statement of policy that when these people start asking for this information, we want to be sure they respect the individual's privacy."
• Bob Kunst, activist in Miami: "It's time to get government, politicians, and religious fanatics out of people's bedrooms once and for all."

Opposition

Opponents

Former Officials

• Former State Rep. Bob Drake

Opposition

• Mike Thompson, chairman of the Florida Conservative Union: "If you look at the active support, they (the gays) clearly believe passage of the amendment would legitimize their lifestyle. I think they've made my point."
• Former Florida Representative Bob Brake (D): "The people of Florida don't realize what these words mean. I just don't think any society can live long with legal anarchy, which in effect is what this is going to be."

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Florida Constitution

The amendment, sponsored by State Representative Curtis Kiser (R), was passed in the Florida State Legislature as House Joint Resolution 387 during the 1980 legislative session. It was filed with the Florida Secretary of State on May 19, 1980, for inclusion on the November 1980 general election ballot.

See also

1980 Measures

• 1980 Measures
• Constitutional rights on the ballot
• 1980 legislative sessions

Florida

• Florida ballot measures
• Florida ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Florida November 4, 1980 Ballot Measures