Florida voters narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have enshrined the right to abortion throughout pregnancy into the state constitution, Decision Desk HQ projected.
The failure of the proposed amendment was called at 8:15 p.m., more than an hour after polls closed with nearly 90 percent of the votes counted. The amendment failed 57 percent to 43 percent, Associated Press (AP) data showed at the time of the call. The amendment needed 60 percent support to pass.
The proposed abortion measure, called Amendment 4, is backed by Floridians Protecting Freedom — a coalition of left-wing groups including Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida.
The abortion amendment would have undone the state’s six-week limit and basically create a permanent right to abortion in the state that could have only been undone with another ballot measure or an uphill legal battle. The abortion measure also essentially allowed for abortions throughout pregnancy under certain conditions.
Amendment 4 would have barred the state from restricting abortion before viability, approximately 24 weeks, or later in pregnancy “as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
It reads:
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 passage of the amendment would have likely made Florida an abortion destination state, with states in the surrounding region significantly restricting abortion early in pregnancy.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) came out against the amendment, saying it “threatens women’s safety.” The AHCA warned that the measure’s vague language could lead to the overturning of at least 20 abortion-related laws, including parental consent, if it is passed.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also spoke out against the abortion amendment and said it was “written in a way that’s intentionally designed to deceive voters.”
The Florida measure is the first pro-abortion constitutional amendment fail since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
Every other pro-abortion-related ballot measure since the fall of Roe has been successful. During the 2022 special elections, Kansans rejected a ballot measure that would have established that the state Constitution does not include a right to abortion. During the 2022 midterms, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont codified abortion into their Constitutions. At the same time, voters in Montana rejected a ballot measure that would have given rights to babies born alive in botched abortions. Voters in Kentucky also rejected an amendment similar to the one in Kansas. Last November, Ohioans also voted to codify the supposed right to abortion in their state Constitution via Issue 1.
No ballot measure has achieved 60 percent support, with only Kansas coming close at 58.97 percent.
Ballot measures are particularly effective as an offensive weapon because they are basically irreversible — they change a state constitution, take precedence over laws passed by state legislatures, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure or lengthy legal battles. The measures are typically propped up by left-wing organizations and affiliates with deep pockets — such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU — out-of-state dark money groups, and billionaires with eugenicist leanings, oftentimes outspending pro-life organizations by double or triple.
Abortion is on the ballot in nine other states besides Florida.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
