Mixed night for US abortion rights supporters after defeat in Florida

Voters have defeated a measure to add abortion rights to the Florida state constitution but sided with abortion rights advocates on ballot measures in Colorado, Maryland and New York.

Results were still pending in six other states with abortion measures on the ballot.

Most voters supported the Florida measure, but it fell short of the required 60% to pass constitutional amendments in the state. Most states require a simple majority.

The result was a political win for Republican governor Ron DeSantis that will keep in place the state’s ban on most abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy.

It is the first ballot measure victory for abortion opponents in any state since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, a decision that ended the nationwide right to abortion and opened the door to bans in most Republican-controlled states, protections in Democrat-dominated ones and new political and legal battles across the country.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the result is “a momentous victory for life in Florida and for our entire country”, praising Mr DeSantis for leading the charge against the measure.

Mr DeSantis, a Republican with a national profile, has steered state Republican funds to the cause. His administration has weighed in, too, with a campaign against the measure, investigators questioning people who signed petitions to add it to the ballot and threats to TV stations that aired one commercial supporting it.

The defeat makes permanent a shift in the Southern abortion landscape that began when the state’s six-week ban took effect in May. That removed Florida as a destination for abortion for many women from nearby states with deeper bans and also led to far more women from the state travelling to obtain abortion. The nearest states with looser restrictions are North Carolina and Virginia – hundreds of miles away.

“The reality is because of Florida’s constitution a minority of Florida voters have decided Amendment 4 will not be adopted,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for the Yes on 4 Campaign said while wiping away tears. “The reality is a majority of Floridians just voted to end Florida’s abortion ban.”

In Maryland, the abortion rights amendment is a legal change that will not make an immediate difference to abortion access in a state that already allows it.

The Colorado measure exceeded the 55% of support required to pass. Besides enshrining access, it also undoes an earlier amendment that barred using state and local government funding for abortion, opening the possibility of state Medicaid and government employee insurance plans covering care.

A New York equal rights law that abortion rights group say will bolster abortion rights also passed. It does not contain the word “abortion” but rather bans discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy”.

Sasha Ahuja, campaign director of New Yorkers for Equal Rights, called the result “a monumental victory for all New Yorkers” and a vote against opponents who she says used misleading parental rights and anti-trans messages to thwart the measure.