Florida Republican voters could be key to push for abortion rights referendum

More than 150,000 Republicans among 1.3m signatures collected for plan to put constitutional amendment to voters next year

Pro-choice activists in Florida, where nearly all abortions are banned after the 15th week of pregnancy, want voters to enshrine the right to a termination in the state constitution via a referendum on next year's election ballot.

More than 150,000 registered Republican voters in Florida have now signed a petition calling for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a woman's right to an abortion up to the point of a fetus's viability, which is generally considered to be around the 24th week of pregnancy.