'Fascist': Liberal critics melt down after Florida voters reject abortion rights amendment

Liberal social media commenters and left-wing members of the media slammed Florida voters and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for rejecting an amendment that would have created a constitutional right to abortion, describing its failure as "openly fascist."

"He’s put everything on it, including, as you said, threats, whatever it takes to try to make sure that that amendment fails using the power of government in a way that is, I would say, openly fascist and very determined," MSNBC's Joy Reid said Tuesday evening on air about Florida's Amendment 4 failing. 

DeSantis signed the Heartbeat Protection Act into law last year, which banned most abortions after six weeks of gestation. This year, Florida residents voted on Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, which worked to overturn the ban. 

In Florida, constitutional amendments must get 60% of the vote, not a simple majority, to pass. Amendment 4 received majority support among voters but failed to meet the 60% threshold, which sparked an onslaught of criticism from Democrats, left-wing media outlets and pro-choice advocates. 

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, speaks to supporters during a caucus night party Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

"Desantis’ Dirty Tricks Pay Off as Florida Abortion Measure Fails," a Rolling Stone headline published Tuesday evening declared. And social media users chimed in with expletives aimed at voters who rejected the ballot measure. 

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Other commenters launched expletives aimed at DeSantis and voters who rejected the amendment. 

"No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion," the amendment states. 

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Republicans and religious leaders in the state have railed against the pro-choice amendment in the months leading up to Election Day, including DeSantis, who said the amendment potentially passing would represent "the end of the pro-life movement." 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes the stage at the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

"If you care about building a culture of life in this state or this country, them winning in Florida I think really represents the end of the pro-life movement," DeSantis said in September during an event at Jesuit High School in Tampa, the Tampa Bay Times reported. 

"If you look at the state of Florida, we do not have a pro-life majority," DeSantis warned. "We’ve got a big chunk, but we don’t have a majority. If only people that are pro-life oppose it, it very well might pass."

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Catholic leaders in the state had also slammed the amendment as "extremely grave" and urged all "Floridians of goodwill" to vote against it. 

Florida residents wait in line at an early polling precinct to cast their ballots in local, state and national elections in Clearwater, Fla., Nov. 3, 2024.  (Reuters/Octavio Jones)

"We urge all Floridians of goodwill to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment. In doing so, we will not only protect the weakest, most innocent, and defenseless of human life among us but also countless women throughout the state from the harms of abortion," the Catholic bishops of Florida said in a statement on Amendment 4.

After its failure to pass, pro-life and religious groups celebrated the news as a massive win for the pro-life movement. 

"The defeat of Amendment 4 in Florida is a huge victory for the whole state, especially its most vulnerable. Proponents of Amendment 4 used the same playbook they have in other states which relied on fearmongering and disinformation backed by a funding advantage of tens of millions of out-of-state dollars," Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said in a statement. 

"But Floridians rejected the proposal when they learned it would open the floodgates for abortion, at any time, for any reason, funded by taxpayers. We are grateful to Governor Ron DeSantis, who, from the outset, led the effort to cut through the pro-abortion campaign of lies and exposed the ugly truth about Amendment 4."

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