Thursday, 26 December 2024

Pro-Abortion Ballot Initiative In Florida FAILS!

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A ballot initiative to enshrine abortion access into Florida’s state constitution has failed to pass.

The Sunshine State’s six-week abortion ban remains in place.

With 95 percent reporting, 57 percent to 42 percent voted yes for Amendment 4.

The measure needed 60 percent to pass.

NewsNation reports:

Abortion is banned in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy under a law that took effect May 1. There are exceptions for pregnancies from rape or incest, as well as to protect the safety of the pregnant patient.

Voters had the opportunity to amend the state constitution to protect the right to abortion until fetal viability or when necessary to protect the pregnant person’s health. The point of fetal viability is around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

To pass, the measure needed support from at least 60% of voters, a high threshold that supporters hope to reach after collecting nearly a million signatures on the petition to get it on the ballot.

The state sought to challenge the measure, arguing that there are differing views on the meaning of “viability” and that some key terms in the proposed measure are not properly defined. The arguments eventually did not hold up in the state’s Supreme Court, which decided to allow the measure on the ballot.

From The Hill:

The measure needed a 60 percent supermajority to pass, the highest threshold in the country. No abortion measure to date has passed with 60 percent of the vote.

Florida was one of 10 states voting on abortion-related ballot measures Tuesday. All the others needed a simple majority to pass.

The state previously had a 15-week ban, but the six-week ban took effect in May. Florida’s ban has effectively shut off abortion access in the South, where neighboring states already enforce near-total abortion bans or severe restrictions.

Abortion-rights advocates were hoping to change that and spent nearly $100 million on the effort.

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

“Amendment 4 has failed,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.


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