MIAMI — Since Florida banned abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy in May, about 700 women have sought care at Planned Parenthood’s Miami office only to discover it was too late, according to the organization. Some went to other states to terminate their pregnancies. Others did not have this choice.

One of the most dramatic cases involved a cancer patient who had to stop chemotherapy when she discovered she was more than six weeks pregnant.

Because of what she saw, Planned Parenthood physician Dr. Chelsea Daniels is one of those at the forefront of advocating for a ballot measure known as the Amendment 4 which would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.

“Blood, sweat and tears have gone into this project, and it must be passed for the good of my community and the good of my patients,” Daniels said, choking up. “The reality of the ban we live under is so cruel and extreme.”

Abortions were allowed in Florida up to 24 weeks of pregnancy until Supreme Court Dobbs decision in 2022. It was limited to 15 weeks in July of the same year, then banned after six weeks on May 1. If Amendment 4 passes, it would guarantee the right to abortion before fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks.

Groups in favor of the ballot measure are making a final push as early voting is underway, with hundreds of thousands of ballots already cast.

While abortion rights have gained in all seven states – Democratic and Republican – that have passed ballot measures since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Florida amendment faces a unique obstacle. The state requires all ballot amendments to gain approval from 60 percent of voters. While some states, like California and Vermont, passed abortion rights ballot measures by more than 60 percent, other states, like Michigan and Ohio, passed them by approximately 56%.

Some opinion polls have sown doubt on the question of whether that of Florida the measurement can passespecially as the state has become more Republican in recent years.

“If Florida were virtually any other state in the union, the bill would pass easily because it would certainly exceed the majority level of support,” said Fernand Amandi, a Democratic consultant and pollster in Miami. “The problem here in Florida is that the threshold is 60%.”

Some of the main opposition to Amendment 4 comes from Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and his administration, which have intensified their efforts in recent weeks against the amendment.

The state Department of Health sent cease and desist letters to several broadcast stations which aired an ad supporting Amendment 4, saying it was a “nuisance” to public health and warning of criminal prosecution if the stations did not stop airing the ad.

A a federal judge blocked the state’s surgeon general to threaten TV stations, claiming it was about free speech and that Florida ran its own campaign against the abortion rights ballot initiative, thus demanding the removal of opposing ads amounted to to censorship.

“The governor is even going so far as to violate the law and the Constitution to try to stop entities from airing television ads in favor of the amendment in Florida, which shows how committed he is to preventing this from happening . ” said Amandi.

In an interview with NBC News, Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, who opposes the ballot measure, accused abortion rights ads of being misleading.

“What we are opposed to is a campaign of deception and lies, outright lies,” Nuñez said. “So I think there’s been a lot of discussion about how TV networks might know full well that they’re running ads based on lies, and what the consequences are. They’re lying to voters.”

Nuñez referred to the fact that the abortion ban states that there are exceptions, including for the life of the mother, and an ad featured a woman with brain cancer who claimed that the Florida had banned abortion “even in cases like mine.” Criticisms of the state’s abortion ban say current law makes it difficult to prove exceptions and discourages doctors, who risk a crime and prison time, from providing necessary care, as doctors and clinicians detailed in a recent report from Physicians for Human Rights. In cases of rape or incest, Florida requires women to first file a police report and submit it to the doctor before they can access an abortion within 15 weeks. Nationally, mmore than 2 out of 3 sexual assaults go unreported, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, or RAINN.

The Florida Department of State’s Bureau of Election Crimes and Security also released a report accusing some workers who collected signatures for the abortion initiative of fraud. And a state agency that regulates health care providers, including abortion clinics, launched a website last month oppose the ballot measure.

When asked about the website, Nuñez said, “State agencies are constantly running public service advertisements. The Department of Transportation, for example, constantly runs ads encouraging people to drive sober.

DeSantis and Nuñez, in their official capacities, made appearances to campaign against the amendment.

Some did not know about the ban on abortion

Those who support Amendment 4 say they are optimistic about its passage.

The “Yes on 4” campaign knocked on more than 600,000 doors, made more than 500,000 phone calls and sent more than 4 million text messages, according to a campaign spokesperson.

One of the biggest challenges organizers faced early on was that many voters were unaware that abortion was restricted in Florida. Most voters have since caught up, especially since the ads launched in September.

A the ad featured a woman who was told when she was 23 weeks pregnant, her baby suffered from an illness and would not survive after birth; she said that due to Florida’s abortion ban, she had to carry her pregnancy to 37 weeks and that the baby died shortly after birth.

“We’re always trying to teach people what real politics is,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign manager for the “Yes on 4” ballot initiative. “And even people who are aware of the ban may not realize that there are actually no practical exceptions for things like rape, incest or a woman’s health.”

Mi Vecino, a group focused on voter education and mobilization in the Latino regions of South and Central Florida, said more than 70% of those contacted now knew the amendment was on the ballot voting.

The organization said it has knocked on hundreds of thousands of doors and made hundreds of thousands of calls.

“There is a lot of awareness about the ballot measure. People understand that Amendment 4 is on the ballot,” said Alex Berrios, co-founder of the group. “But they don’t necessarily make the connection with the existence of a six-week ban on abortion.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com