MIAMI – Despite its failure to achieve a 60% supermajority at the ballot box, supporters of abortion rights said the 57% of “yes” voters on Amendment 4 show that Florida voters oppose the state’s direction on the issue.
The ballot measure, designed to enshrine abortion rights into Florida’s constitution, came three points away from winning despite another Republican blowout up and down the Florida ballot.
“In any other scenario, it’s a blowout win,” Anna Hochkammer, with the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, said. “There is a message here and it’s that an awful lot of people that vote for Republicans also voted for Amendment 4.”
A host of former Republican elected officials had supported the measure, including former Key Biscayne Mayor Mayra Lindsay.
“I see this as a privacy, women’s health issue and we are doing a disservice to all of society,” Lindsay said. “It had no business becoming a partisan issue.”
But it became that way, possibly because of wide Democratic support and the party’s campaigning on abortion rights.
The DeSantis administration also spent taxpayer money and resources in a public blitz to sow doubt and fear, with some information out of context or misleading.
Faith-based opponents were also given a government role.
Thomas Wenski, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Miami, said he was “profoundly relieved” Amendment 4 did not pass.
At the same time, the group Catholics for Choice shared unease and anger, critical of government “overreach” in abortion health care law.