On Tuesday, the same day as the 2024 presidential election, Florida voters rejected the proposed pro-abortion Amendment 4, therefore keeping in place the state’s pro-life law protecting almost all unborn children after six weeks.

Fifty-seven percent of Florida voters cast their votes in favor of the  amendment  – short of the 60% supermajority required for its passage.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated the defeat of both Amendment 4 and Amendment 3, a proposed amendment that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use in the state, which also fell a few points short of the 60% threshold required for its passage.

“Amendment 3 has failed. Amendment 4 has failed,” DeSantis, a Catholic, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) just three minutes after polls had closed in the Sunshine State. During the 2024 campaign season, the governor had emerged as a staunch opponent of both efforts.

SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!

Last year, DeSantis signed Florida’s current pro-life protections into law.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops praised the vote.

“We are profoundly relieved at the defeat of Florida’s pro-abortion Amendment 4,” the bishops wrote in a statement. “This is a positive outcome for Florida and all efforts to promote the flourishing of our state.”

The bishops acknowledged that while the amendment failed “a majority of Floridians voting in the general election supported it.”

“Much work remains to open hearts and minds to the dignity and goodness of life in the womb and at every stage,” they added:

We will continue to proclaim in our churches and in the public square the value of every human life and to highlight that there is a better way forward for women, families and society than abortion. Through our many ministries, we will continue to support, encourage and assist pregnant women and young families.

Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany observed on X that the vote’s outcome made her home state of Florida “the first state in the nation to defeat an abortion initiative.”

“This is a HUGE victory for the pro-life movement and a true testament to what happens when a leader leans into explaining the issue,” she continued, adding that DeSantis “deserves a ton of credit for reversing the post-Dobbs losses!”

Students for Life America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins, a Catholic, noted, “Tens of thousands of babies will now be saved because Florida’s Amendment 4 failed.”

“Abortion remains illegal after a heartbeat can be heard around 6 weeks,” Hawkins added. “PRAISE GOD!”

Furthermore, LiveAction President Lila Rose, also a Catholic, indicated on X: “Pro-abortion groups spent $120 MILLION to enshrine Amendment 4 and abortion on babies through all nine months into Florida’s constitution.”

“They outspent pro-life 8:1 but they still FAILED,” she emphasized.

Retired Super Bowl-winning National Football League (NFL) coach Tony Dungy called the amendment’s defeat “a victory for babies.”

“Thank you to all the Florida residents who helped to protect the lives of the unborn,” added Dungy, a pro-life Christian and Tampa resident. “And we want people to realize that those expectant mothers  who need help will still be able to get it.”

“Pregnant women with health risks can get treatment,” the coach wrote on X, likely in response to a common talking point used by the pro-abortion left.

Florida was not the only state to defeat a pro-abortion amendment on Tuesday.

South Dakota will remain one of a dozen states in the country that protects nearly all unborn children throughout all stages of pregnancy with the failure of its proposed pro-abortion Amendment G.

In the reliably red state, the initiative was defeated in a landslide margin. With two thirds of the vote in, “no” was leading with 61% of the vote to just 39% for “yes” on South Dakota Amendment G.

Furthermore, Nebraska not only rejected the pro-abortion initiative on its ballot, it also simultaneously approved a measure to protect unborn children after the first trimester – commonly defined as 13 weeks of pregnancy.

Nebraska Initiative 439 or the “Right to Abortion” narrowly failed with 51.1% of the vote against to 48.9% for.

Meanwhile, the state’s Initiative 434 or “Prohibit Abortion Past First Trimester” passed by a ten point 55% to 45% margin.
However, voters in the other seven states with abortion on the ballot – Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York, all voted to enshrine abortion in their respective state’s Constitutions.

LifeNews Note: Joshua Mercer writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.