A measure that would have enshrined protections for abortion rights in Florida's state constitution failed to reach the 60% threshold needed to pass, ABC News projects.
Florida has a six-week abortion ban in effect, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. If it had been approved, the provision would have allowed abortions to resume in a state that was a key access point for abortion care for women across the South before the state's ban went into effect in April.
The initiative would have amended the state's constitution to add protections for abortion, outlawing legislation that prohibits, penalizes, delays or restricts abortion care before viability or when necessary to protect a patient's health.
This is the first abortion-related ballot initiative to fail since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Voters in six states -- California, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Michigan and Vermont -- already upheld abortion rights through ballot initiatives in the 2022 midterm elections.
At least 14 states have ceased nearly all abortion services since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In total, 21 states have restrictions on abortion in effect.
Fifty-seven percent of voters approved the ballot initiative, three percentage points short of passing.
Florida voted down the initiative even as voters there favor legal abortion by 65%. Among supporters of legal abortion, 14% voted against the amendment, according to preliminary exit poll results.
