To address the growing tensions and misinformation on this issue, Teen Vogue spoke with Lauren Brenzel, campaign director at Yes on 4. During the interview, I asked Brenzel about the arduous journey of getting Amendment 4 on the ballot for voters — which included a lengthy statewide petition process — and what young people in Florida and across the country should learn from the state’s attempts to censor the campaign.

This conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

Teen Vogue: A central claim for many conservatives and pro-life voters is that they want abortion to be a states’ rights issue. What will this trial show about the difficulty of the trial in Florida compared to when abortion was federally protected?

Lauren Brenzel: It’s been an incredibly challenging road since day one of this issue. The reality is that politicians seem most comfortable with states’ rights when they control the process and not the people who have a say in their constitution. We have seen numerous attempts by our government to try to silence the will of the people and now it is so important that everyone comes out and votes for this – because the only power we have is to get to that 60 mark % (vote). (had to pass constitutional amendment).

TELEVISION: A federal judge told the DeSantis administration to stop threatening Florida television stations about Yes on the 4. Florida Democrats also filed criminal complaints against the state after the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration aired a ad directing viewers to a website that makes a case against Amendment 4. What’s your reaction to all of this?

pounds: All of this is trying to silence abortion patients, and this is a truly disturbing precedent. We need to hear from people who are affected by abortion. We cannot trust our politicians to continue to be the voice on this issue; Patients and providers should be the voice. We know the government isn’t ready to hear stories about abortions because that’s what wins people’s hearts and minds. After all, ordinary people see abortion as health care, not a political issue.

We really tried not to get distracted and stay focused on the main message, which is that we need to pass Amendment 4 because there is no other way to end Florida’s extreme abortion ban (for the foreseeable future). .We won (a favorable ruling) a federal lawsuit that was brought with the ACLU of Florida and other attorneys to stop the Department of Health from trying to threaten criminal charges (charges) against television stations for airing Caroline’s ad…