Minority in Florida snaps abortion rights winning streak

Florida on Tuesday became the first state to reject an abortion rights amendment since Roe v. Wade was overturned, but backers of the measure decried that a minority of voters was able to prevail.

A majority of Florida voters supported Amendment 4 — nearly 58 percent — but it needed 60 percent to pass.

“The reality is, because of Florida’s constitution, a minority of Florida voters have decided that Amendment 4 will not be adopted,” Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes on 4, told supporters Tuesday. “A majority of Floridians, in what is the most conservative presidential election in Florida’s history, voted to end Florida’s abortion ban." 

The amendment would have enshrined protections for abortion up to the point of fetal viability, or about 24 weeks, into the state constitution, preventing the state from passing laws to “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion” until that point.  

The amendment’s backers said it was clear that Floridians support abortion rights. 

Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said the majority vote should be “a powerful message to politicians that the government has no business interfering in personal medical decisions. Clearly, most Floridians rejected the state’s near-total abortion ban.” 

But because the amendment failed, Florida’s current six-week ban on abortions will remain in place, a major victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and anti-abortion groups that had been unable to stop the momentum in earlier states.

“Florida’s voters again had the choice — do we want to be like California? Their answer was ‘NO,'” Vote No on 4 spokesperson Taryn Fenske said in a statement. “Floridians’ commonsense, family-focused values prevailed.” 

Florida's 60 percent threshold for ballot amendments is higher than any other state, due to a measure passed in 2006. The state has subsequently passed laws making it harder and more expensive to put an amendment on the ballot.

Other conservative states like Ohio have in recent years unsuccessfully tried to pass measures increasing the threshold for ballot measures to pass, with lawmakers specifically citing abortion amendments as the reason.

Anti-abortion groups cheered the Florida result and praised DeSantis for his efforts to defeat the measure. 

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser called Florida “the model for how the pro-life movement will win future ballot measure fights.”   

“The demise of pro-abortion Amendment 4 is a momentous victory for life in Florida and for our entire country,” Dannenfelser said. “Thanks to Gov. Ron DeSantis, when we wake up tomorrow, babies with beating hearts will still be protected in the free state of Florida.”  

DeSantis engaged multiple levers of state-sponsored power to oppose the measure. 

This summer, a Republican-controlled state panel added what supporters said was a misleading financial statement beneath the question, stating that the amendment could cost the state money because of lawsuits.   

In September, the state agency in charge of running Florida’s Medicaid program launched a website attacking the amendment. At least three public agencies have aired television and radio ads against the measure.    

The state Department of Health threatened local television stations that had run an ad supporting the amendment, and a state election police unit visited residents’ homes as part of a fraud investigation into the signature-gathering process months after the measure was certified with almost 1 million verified signatures. 

Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, a national ballot measure organization that backed Florida’s Yes on 4 campaign, said the “anti-democratic tactics” by the DeSantis administration “silenced” what Floridians wanted.  

“Florida voters turned out in record numbers for the ballot measure, making it clear how much they value reproductive freedom,” Hall said. 

“Legislators in Tallahassee should take note and pass abortion access legislation that reflects the will of their constituents; meanwhile, we will continue our fight to put ballot measures in front of voters so they can exercise their fundamental democratic rights.”

Former President Trump said he voted against the amendment, despite also saying that Florida’s six-week abortion ban is too strict.