‘Fascist’: Liberal critics coalesce after Florida voters reject abortion rights amendment

Liberal social media commentators and left-leaning members of the media criticized Florida voters and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for rejecting an amendment that would have created a constitutional right to abortion, describing its failure as “blatantly fascist.”

“He’s put everything on it, including, as you said, threats, whatever it takes to try to make sure that amendment fails by using government power in a way that is, I would say, blatantly fascist and very determined, ” MSNBC’s Joy Reid said Tuesday night on air about Florida’s Amendment 4 failure.

DeSantis signed the Heartbeat Protection Act last year, which banned most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. this year, Florida residents voted on Amendment 4, The Right to Abortion Initiative, which worked to overturn the ban.

In Florida, constitutional amendments must receive 60% of the vote, not a simple majority, to pass. Amendment 4 received majority support among voters but fell short of the 60% threshold, sparking an onslaught of criticism from Democrats, left-leaning media and pro-choice advocates.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, speaks to supporters during a caucus night on Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

“Desantis’ dirty tricks pay off as Florida abortion measure fails,” declared a Rolling Stone headline published Tuesday night. And social media users chimed in with expletives aimed at voters who rejected the ballot.

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Other commentators launched expletives aimed at DeSantis and voters who rejected the amendment.

“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 health care provider. This amendment does not alter the legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification of a parent or guardian before a minor gets an abortion,” the amendment states.

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Republicans and religious leaders in the state have railed against the pro-choice amendment in the months leading up to Election Day, including DeSantis, who said the amendment would potentially represent “the end of the pro-life movement.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis takes the stage at the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

“If you care about building a culture of life in this state or this country, winning in Florida, I think really represents the end of the pro-life movement,” DeSantis said in September during an event at Jesuit High School in Tampa. The Tampa Bay Times reported.

“If you look at the state of Florida, we don’t have a pro-life majority,” DeSantis warned. “We have a large part, but we don’t have a majority. If only people who are pro-life oppose it, it may well pass.”

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Catholic leaders in the state had also criticized the amendment as “extremely serious” and urged all “Floridians of good will” to vote against it.

Florida residents wait in line at an early voting location to cast their ballots in local, state and national elections in Clearwater, Florida, November 3, 2024. (Reuters/Octavio Jones)

“We call on all Floridians of good will to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment. By doing so, we will protect not only the weakest, most innocent and defenseless human lives among us, but also countless women throughout . the state from the harms of abortion,” the Florida Catholic bishops said in a statement of amendment 4.

After that failed, pro-life and religious groups celebrated the news as a massive victory for the pro-life movement.

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“The defeat of Amendment 4 in Florida is a huge victory for the entire state, especially its most vulnerable. Amendment 4 supporters used the same playbook as they have in other states that relied on fear and disinformation backed by a funding boon of tens of millions of million. of foreign dollars,” said Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, in a statement.

“But Floridians rejected the proposal when they learned it would open the floodgates to taxpayer-funded abortion anytime, for any reason. We are grateful to Governor Ron DeSantis, who from the start led the effort to cut through the pro-abortion campaign of lies and exposed the ugly truth about Amendment 4.”

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