ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Voters have rejected Amendment 4, keeping the state’s six-week abortion ban in place.
The amendment, which sought to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution, had to be approved by at least 60% of voters. It fell just short at more than 57% of the vote.
Now, those on both sides of the issue say this will do little to stop their work.
Supporters of abortion access said they’ll continue to fight for the majority of Floridians who want to overturn Florida’s restrictive six-week ban.
May Thach, a committee member of Floridians for Reproductive Freedom said she and her organization plan to channel their disappointment into action.
"We're angry, upset, and devastated at the result, and yet we’re still also hopeful, excited, and galvanized to do what’s next," Thach said.
Floridians for Reproductive Freedom said their next action will be to ensure Florida legislators take note of the 57% of voters in favor of overturning the 6-week ban.
"This is an issue that is popular, this is an issue that a majority of people want," Thach said. "You have already seen, it’s already in the works that these folks do not want this ban, right?"
Thach said as they continue to fight for change in Florida, resources are still available to all in need, including a fund to help women access abortions out of state through the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund.
"In the current state that we’re in, we’re of course supporting our direct aid and direct service organizations," she said.
Meanwhile, pro-life organizations say their narrow margin of victory shows they need to strengthen their messaging in Florida.
"We really dodged a bullet. We played defense, we won, and now we have the ball and we’re going to continue to move the ball forward," Scott Mahurin, the director of Florida Preborn Rescue said.
For Mahurin, that’s moving beyond a six-week ban.
"The goal of the pro-life movement is to make abortion illegal and unthinkable," he said.