Florida Democrats really wanted to enshrine abortion in the state’s constitution. They were angered at the heartbeat abortion ban, which limits the procedure to the first six weeks of gestation — before a heartbeat can be detected. So, like several other states, they decided to try their hand at circumventing the state legislature by crafting a ballot measure dubbed Amendment 4, which stated: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

The Democrats poured tens of millions of dollars into advertising for this amendment. They even got into legal kerfuffles with the state legislature over the right to run misleading ads, though a federal judge ruled in their favor. Furthermore, the pushback from Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republicans made those behind the ballot measure push even harder. They smelled blood in the water and gleefully waited for November 5.

However, early in the night, as now-President-elect Donald Trump was handily winning Florida, it was clear to those watching that Amendment 4 would not pass. And praise God for it.

“I’m happy Amendment 4 failed in Florida,” says Washington Examiner senior writer David Harsanyi, “but direct democracy ballot measures are still unAmerican and should be done away with.” I completely agree. However, if doing away with them isn’t going to happen, then Florida has a threshold in place that other states should really consider as part of their own policy for major constitutional changes. There, a ballot measure must earn 60% of the vote to pass — thus proving that a durable majority of citizens do actually want the measure. Amendment 4 failed very early in the evening, with 57% voting “Yes.” Florida’s 60% threshold made all the difference.

Celebration has been ringing out from all pro-lifers. This was not only a victory in political terms — DeSantis and Florida Republicans fought really hard against this amendment — but a major victory in the fight for life in the U.S.

VICTORY: Early results suggest Amendment 4 will fail. First pro-abortion ballot initiative to lose.

Huge win for Ron DeSantis. Huge win for life. pic.twitter.com/WBqGxCGX6a

— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) November 6, 2024

DeSantis really is the hero in this. He used all the political tools at his disposal to fight for the pro-life cause. Many other Republicans have shied away from the abortion issue altogether because they have become convinced that abortion is an unstoppable winning issue for Democrats and a losing one for Republicans. Not DeSantis. As the editors at National Review point out, he “put a lot of his political capital on the line to stump for a pro-life position that many other Republicans feared to defend.”

March for Life President Jeanne Mancini also had glowing things to say in favor of DeSantis’s bravery and Florida’s steadfastness:

March for Life applauds the people of Florida for seeing through an onslaught of well-funded lies and rejecting the radical, destructive Amendment 4. When voters know the truth about dangerous and far-reaching abortion amendments appearing on their ballots, they reject them wholeheartedly. We are grateful to Governor DeSantis for remaining courageously steadfast in his support for the most vulnerable, including using his resources and platform to effectively combat the onslaught of disinformation from Amendment 4 backers whose massive spending advantage was not enough to get this deceptive and dangerous proposal across the finish line.

Florida was not alone in the pro-life victories. South Dakota and Nebraska also scored victories for the unborn. But a 60% threshold would have saved many more lives in some of the states where abortion was also on the ballot, particularly in Missouri and Montana. All states should follow Florida’s lead in this regard.