On election night, pro-lifers cheered the news that a 6-week ban enacted under Gov. Ron DeSantis will get to stay.

Florida’s abortion-rights ballot initiative fell short of passing on Tuesday, leaving in place a six-week abortion ban that has helped restrict access across almost all of the Southern U.S. The measure’s defeat is a significant victory for Gov.

The future legality and availability of abortion hinges not only on ballot measures, as policies could shift depending on who controls Congress and the presidency.

A Florida ballot initiative to protect abortion rights narrowly failed, the first defeat for such a measure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. The proposal, which would have amended the state constitution,

A proposal to amend Florida's state constitution to guarantee abortion rights fell short of the 60% vote threshold needed to pass on Tuesday, becoming the first such measure to fail since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to the procedure in 2022.

The defeat is a political victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who had become of the face of a well-funded opposition campaign.

A costly campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed Tuesday as voters in dozens of states weighed more than 140 measures appearing on the ballot alongside races for president and top state offices.

Florida voters rejected ballot measures Tuesday to protect abortion rights and legalize marijuana, handing victories to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who used state resources and campaigned heavily to defeat the issues.

Florida voters Tuesday rejected creating a constitutional right to abortion, a political win for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that will keep in place the state’s ban on most abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy.