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On Election Day, more than 57% of Floridians voted in favor of a state constitutional amendment that would protect access to abortion. But the proposal still failed, and a law that bans most abortions after six weeks remains in place. Regan McCarthy of member Station WFSU explains why.
REGAN MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Devastated. That's how outgoing state Democratic Senator Lauren Book says she feels when she thinks about the amendment results.
LAUREN BOOK: It's a difficult day when you have to look at your daughter in the face and know that you failed her.
MCCARTHY: Book has been an outspoken abortion rights supporter. She worries under the current ban, more women will see their abortions delayed or denied, and she's worried that will end up costing some of them their lives. She says it's frustrating to see that more than 57% of voters agreed women should have access to abortion up to the point of viability.
BOOK: And because of this arbitrary 60% threshold, that is not going to be the case in Florida, and that is a very painful thing.
MCCARTHY: Some advocates have said the support from most voters sends a clear message to lawmakers. They're hopeful that could mean the state will repeal the current ban in the upcoming legislative session. Book says she's determined to keep fighting, but she calls that idea a false bill of goods.
BOOK: Because with Ron DeSantis in the governor's mansion for the next two years, the reality is these laws will not change.
MCCARTHY: Book worries the vote has emboldened the state Legislature. She's expecting a renewed push for a bill filed last session that some worried could pave the way for establishing fetal personhood. Abortion opponents are also looking ahead to the next legislative session. Andrew Shirvell founded the group Florida Voice for the Unborn. He wants to see a change in the rules surrounding the petition gathering process, and he'd like to see the state pursue a total ban on abortion.
ANDREW SHIRVELL: We think now we have the high ground with the people of Florida rejecting Amendment 4.
MCCARTHY: Shirvell acknowledges their recent vote indicates most Floridians support abortion access, but he doesn't think those results are accurate. He says if people had a better understanding of what the proposal would do, he thinks more of them would have voted no.
SHIRVELL: Again, that doesn't really mean anything 'cause a victory is a victory for our side, and they could have had 59.9%, and we still would have won.
MCCARTHY: All of that leads to the question, why does Florida require 60% approval for its proposed amendments to pass? As it turns out, that answer has something to do with pig farming.
AUBREY JEWETT: The official name was Animal Cruelty Amendment - Limiting Confinement of Pregnant Pigs (ph).
MCCARTHY: Aubrey Jewett is a political science professor at the University of Central Florida. He says in the early 2000s, animal rights activists were concerned about pigs kept in small pens. State lawmakers were frustrated that voters wanted language around pig farming and high-speed rail, for example, added to the state Constitution. Jewett says lawmakers felt like it was too easy for voters to go around them.
JEWETT: Most legislatures, if they are controlled by one party for a period of time, typically don't like direct democracy as much.
MCCARTHY: In 2006, Florida lawmakers put a proposal on the ballot that would require 60% approval for future amendments. Ironically, the measure passed with just under 58% of the vote. That was the last time 50% of the vote would pass an amendment. In recent years, lawmakers have filed bills to raise the bar to two-thirds. While historically that measure hasn't made it very far, some wonder if this could be the year.
For NPR News, I'm Regan McCarthy in Tallahassee. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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