When Amendment 4 failed to pass, Vicky Mathews cried tears of joy.
“I am incredibly overwhelmed that we're going to have this protection in Florida,” Mathews said Tuesday evening at a “Vote No on Amendment 4” watch party at the Rosen Plaza Hotel hosted by the Liberty Counsel.
Mathews was surrounded by a joyful crowd waving American flags and jumping up and down. The watch party turned into a dance party when news of Amendment 4’s failure became public.
The abortion amendment threatened to end Florida’s six-week ban, which took effect earlier this year following a Florida Supreme Court decision ruling in favor of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 15-week abortion ban.
Mathews is the executive director of Choices Women's Clinic, a Pro-life Christian clinic in Central Florida, and has been an advocate for the pro-life movement after having an abortion over 40 years ago. She recalled having the procedure about five years after Roe v Wade and that it took three separate appointments to complete the termination, she said. The incident physically harmed her and changed her outlook on abortion, Mathews said.
“On the front line, we deal with people in these devastating places who would not choose abortion unless it were legal, and so that we can have a law that will protect them from themselves - I'm thrilled about that,” Mathews said.
Florida constitutional amendments require a supermajority, or 60% of the vote, to pass. Amendment 4, also known as "the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion," received 57% of the vote.
Had it passed, it would have enshrined abortion rights into the state constitution, allowing for the procedure up to viability, which is defined in Florida statute as the period when a fetus can survive outside of the womb through standard medical means.
According to research by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the majority of experts agree that 24 weeks is the earliest that a fetus is potentially viable. However, the group states there is no formally recognized clinical definition of “viability” and discourages the use of the word in laws and regulations.
Amendment 4 would have brought Florida’s abortion laws back to the status quo prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization. In that case, the court overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion issue to individual states.
“Everything was on the line. It was a huge victory to defeat Amendment Four tonight,” said Matt Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel of Florida, which organized a massive ground-floor movement against Amendment 4 placing Vote No on Amendment 4 signs all over the state and organizing protests. Staver said he even argued with the Florida Supreme Court over the Amendment’s inclusion on the November ballot, arguing it was too vaguely worded for voters to make an informed choice.
The Floridians Protecting Freedom group petitioned to get Amendment 4 on the November ballot, having received the legal signature requirement necessary to put the issue in front of voters.
Florida was one of 10 states that had abortion rights on the November General Election ballot. As of Tuesday night, Florida was the first state to vote down an abortion amendment since 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court made the Dobbs decision.
“I believe that that trend hopefully will continue across the country, but we're going to continue to fight for life and be a destination that's a sanctuary for life, for families, for women, especially for the unborn, who are vulnerable,” Staver said.
South Dakota also had abortion rights appear on its ballot. Voters shot down an amendment that would have allowed for first-trimester abortions. Nebraska voters also saw abortion protections on their ballots. The race “for” and “against” the amendment was close and within about 3 percentage points, with those "against" leading the vote.
Across town from the Vote No on 4 watch party, supporters of Amendment 4 gathered at The Abbey in Downtown Orlando. The energy of the night dipped when news of the amendment’s failure became public. Among the disappointed voters was Giovanna Sutkiewicz.
“I’m gutted,” she said. “I want to feel safe in my country. I want to feel safe when I'm visiting doctors and know that if I have the choice to have a child, I can do so safely, and I don't need to risk my life having a baby.”
Sharing in Sutkiewicz’s disappointment was Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who worked with Floridians Protecting Freedom to get the amendment on the November ballot.
Eskamani was up for re-election Tuesday and won, but the loss of Amendment 4 soured the victory a bit for her. However, she’s hopeful for a Florida future where abortion up to viability is the law of the land. She believes that future is possible thanks to the 57% of Floridians who voted “yes.”
“We should be proud of the history that we made, 57%, that in any other state would pass, and that is something to take pride in,” she said. “ It also speaks to how the majority of Floridians agree that the near total abortion ban needs to end and that Florida should restore the viability restriction.”
Eskamani said the next step is to go back to the drawing board, analyze the data from the election, and learn where the abortion campaign can pick up again.
“Let's see where in these swing seats, where Republicans won. We need to hold them accountable, and see where we can continue to push forward on legislation that pulls back this near-total abortion ban,” Eskamani said.
Staver is also focused on the 57% of Floridians who voted in support of Amendment 4 but for different reasons.
“I'm disturbed by how many people vote for this, but not surprised, because the deception of this amendment is very difficult to understand when you're in the ballot box and you read it for the very first time,” he said.
Just like Amendment 4 supporters, Staver is not leaving the fight behind. He is instead focused on Florida’s future and the people who voted “yes.”
“That means also that we have to do more education, and so we're going to continue to increase our educational efforts and also the resources that we provide to women and families,” he said.
